AC Milan defender Thiago Silva insists the mindset at San Siro must be tuned into Friday night's Serie A opener against Lazio, and not on next week's big Champions League clash at Barcelona.

The Italian champions welcome Lazio to San Siro as they trigger the start of the new Serie A season.

On Thursday coach Massimiliano Allegri said one eye was on Barcelona, but the Brazil international is keen to underline there is no real sense of urgency on Camp Nou matters for now.

Thiago Silva believes all efforts must be concentrated on Lazio first if they are to raise a barrier to the competition for the Scudetto.

"The league and Champions League are two different competitions and we are mature enough to know exactly what we need to do in both," the defender is quoted as saying on Milannews.it.

"We have to focus on Lazio, and we will think about Barcelona from Saturday onwards.

"We have a Scudetto to defend and we cannot let our fans down in any way."

Kick-off against the Romans is at 20:45 (CET). Milan and Lazio shared the points in a 0-0 draw in this fixture last term.