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AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri has explained his selection choices for the Bologna game, including starting with Christian Pulisic on the bench.
Milan are back in league action after the international break and they are hoping to build on the 2-0 win over Lecce two weeks ago. Bologna will be a tough opponent though, with memories of the Coppa Italia final defeat exactly four months ago still fresh.
Massimiliano Allegri has made just one change from that Lecce victory with new signing Adrien Rabiot slotting straight into the midfield. However, the system has been tweaked a bit to a 3-5-1-1 – at least on paper – because of the absence of forwards.
Allegri spoke to DAZN not long before kick-off to preview the game against Bologna, and his comments were relayed by MilanNews.
What step forward do you want to see from the team today?
“The first step forward is to win the first match at home. As for the first two, we also played well against Cremonese; there were two mistakes on two crosses. Bologna have technical pace, so it will be a different game. We’ll need to play well defensively and develop our attack as best we can.”
Santiago Gimenez gets the start…
“He’d played well in previous games too, but had two goals disallowed. We all hope he scores tonight. He’s a good player, he’s Milan’s centre-forward, and we’re all happy to have him.”
Why Pulisic on the bench?
“Very simple: I think it’s a game that should be played like this with these players. I have Nkunku on the bench, who has 25 minutes, and Pulisic, who is back from international duty, can become an important substitution.
“He’s an important goal-scoring player; he’s already scored two goals. Balentien is a young player with good qualities. We have Ricci, Athekame, Bartesaghi; I have the substitutions tonight.”
How important is that ‘stranger’ [Rabiot]? And why ‘vagabondo’? Is that a Livorno expression?
“He’s a bit of a vagabond (laughs). The club has done a good job, they’ve raised their revenue. We need to do well tonight, finding the win against Bologna, who are now a force in the Italian league, and then keep working.”
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