2 months ago
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The 2025-26 season has arrived, and AC Milan began with a Coppa Italia round of 32 clash against Serie B side Bari at San Siro.
This summer has been an active one for Milan with lots of departures and arrivals. There’s still a bit of a state of flux too, with more exits expected like Noah Okafor and potentially Yunus Musah, plus the signing of a new striker expected too.
With a week left before the start of Serie A, the game against Bari was a good test for the Rossoneri and presented us with an idea of how Massimiliano Allegri’s side might look, even if he was suspended and thus not on the sidelines.
Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic started as the two forwards and it will be intriguing to see if this continues. Both of them got on the scoresheet, with the Portuguese netting a header in the first half before going off injured, then the American scored not long after the break.
That being said, what did we learn from the curtain-raiser at San Siro?
1. A promising start
Leao had an encouraging preseason and fans will be hoping that Allegri is the coach to take him to the next level, but there’s plenty of work still to do to find that consistency.
Having said that, Leao started off the season well as he scored a lovely headed goal, something that he needs to add more of given his height and build. Once again he seemed comfortable leading the line, even though it isn’t his natural position.
There isn’t too much to talk about after that given he was subbed off early on, but he did his job. The fact that he was withdrawn with discomfort and the panic this caused only demonstrates further his importance to this side.
2. Captain America is back
Pulisic missed quite a bit of pre-season due to an ankle injury, but he was back in style with a lovely goal where he started the sequence combined with Santiago Gimenez and ended up scoring the goal.
The winger has been very consistent throughout the past two years but Milan lacked stability and at times he even played hurt. The hope now is that with an improved squad and with an experienced coach like Allegri, Pulisic can continue to lead by example.
Rafa and Pulisic have shown their qualities on multiple occasions, the task now is to find consistency and be true stars, whether that’s with both flanking a new striker, or even continuing as ‘split strikers’ in a 3-5-2.
3. Promising signs at the back
It’s still unclear if Allegri will stick with the three-man defence, but against Bari it seemed quite effective and the clean sheet is a proof of this.
Playing against a side from the division below isn’t exactly an acid test, though we saw an encouraging display from the three central defenders chosen. There were no major errors and they also got involved in the build-up.
The one standout has to Fikayo Tomori as he played really well in both phases of the game and got the assist on Leao’s goal too. The Englishman has struggled for form in the past couple of seasons and it’s good to see him this stable.
4. The maestro dazzles
Luka Modric came on in the second half and whilst he only got a 28-minute cameo in the end, we did see enough to be impressed as he showcased his passing accuracy and ball control in tight spaces.
His shooting, or lack there of, was the only slight hole in his game. Late on he had the chance to take a shot in the opposition box after a smart dribble, but took an extra touch and opted to look for a cut-back instead of firing which proved to be the wrong decision.
Regardless, his calmness and leadership will be crucial for Milan this season as he provides a guarantee in that midfield. In addition to that, he should be very useful when it comes to breaking down the low block too.
5. Wasteful up front
Whilst Leao and Pulisic got a goal each it’s fair to say that Milan should’ve scored quite a few more goals. Perhaps it was the lack of a typical striker that is partly to blame for that, though there was also some erratic shooting.
Gimenez got an assist after coming off the bench but we didn’t really see him in goal-scoring situations and he might be needing time to get to full fitness so we won’t be too harsh on him. The Mexican is the only striker in the squad though, so goals will be expected from him.
The Rossoneri had 24 total shots, of which only five were on target. They also had 12 corners but failed to make any of them count, so the failure to be clinical is certainly an area to address, especially against better opponents.
The positive though was that Milan did look fluid going forward, managing to stretch a Bari side more interested in sitting deep to frustrate (for obvious reasons). In weeks to come, we hope to see the defence-first Allegri stereotype fully squashed.
English (US) ·