Allegri breaks down Milan’s huge derby win over Inter: “Important on a psychological level”

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted his side were far from perfect against Inter, but did what was needed to secure a massive win.

Milan made it six derbies on the spin without defeat and four wins in six against Inter, winning 1-0 at San Siro on Sunday night. Christian Pulisic got the only goal early in the second half, firing into an empty net after Yann Sommer had parried an Alexis Saelemaekers shot straight to him.

The Rossoneri once again defended heroically when asked to, and Mike Maignan stepped up to bail out Strahinja Pavlovic who conceded a penalty for a foul on Marcus Thuram. Hakan Calhanoglu took on the responsibility, but he failed to convert from 12 yards as Maignan went the right away.

‘Tonight’s result is especially important’

Allegri spoke to DAZN after the full-time whistle to give his reaction after what was yet another huge and hard-earned win for his side, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

You returned to the dressing room smiling at the end of the match…

“A great win, it was an entertaining match. In the first half, we were a little lacking in the first 15 minutes, but then the team played better. We had 4-5 situations where we could have finished better in the final metres.

“We should have activated Saelemaekers better because Dimarco was very high up and we could have hurt him. We need to finish our crosses better. Then, after Inter came to attack us, we defended well in preventive marking.

“They are deadly when you press them and they lay things off with their strikers and midfielders. We defended reasonably well on set pieces, too.”

Are the regrets for not having won those ‘easier’ matches greater than the joy for winning the six-pointers?

“The head-to-heads are a great joy, but then there are leagues where you win every head-to-head but lose points against the smaller teams… But in the end, the points we have are what we deserve. We need to improve our attacking pressure.

“This week, we’re all training together and we’ll improve our physical condition. Claudio Filippi is the penalty man – he’s the best in that role, a hard worker. He’s very good at preparing goalkeepers for penalties.”

What confirmation does this match give you?

“It confirmed that when we had games where the pace had to be decided, we sometimes did it and sometimes didn’t. In fact, we conceded goals against Cremonese, Pisa and Parma. When the matches are of a high level, you have to stay focused.

“The step forward must be made against the so-called smaller teams. Tonight’s result is especially important on a psychological level. We could have gone five points behind [Inter], which isn’t a lot, but staying in the top four is very important.”

We saw Pulisic and Leao together…

“It worked well, but it had already worked in Australia. Nkunku is also important; we need everyone. The fact that we all trained together this week is an advantage because it increases the pace.”