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Massimiliano Allegri’s assistant Marco Landucci believes that the AC Milan boss will be happy with some things and less happy with others after the 2-0 win over Bari.
Milan got their 2025-26 season off to the ideal start as they beat Bari 2-0 in the Coppa Italia round of 32 at San Siro on Sunday night. The goals were scored by Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic in each half, but the former did go off with an injury.
Ultimately though it was a job done with minimal fuss for the Rossoneri against a side from a division lower. Now, they will hope to take some confidence and rhythm for it in view of the Serie A curtain raiser next weekend against Cremonese.
Landucci was the one who sat in the dugout for tonight’s game given that Allegri was serving a suspension he got in the final game of his time at Juventus. He spoke to Mediaset after the game, with MilanNews relaying his comments.
Your thoughts on the game?
“It was a very good attitude. The team interpreted what they had to do well. We missed a few too many chances in the first half, but the team played a serious game.”
Will Leao be playing against Cremonese?
“I can’t tell you, he left the pitch because of this issue. We didn’t want to take any more risks. We’ll see the results of the medical tests in the next few days.”
On the formation…
“It depended on the situation. We had to look for Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek behind their midfielders and we had to change the play because their line was very narrow, changing the play to go one-on-one. They shot too many times and we don’t like that.”
Does Loftus-Cheek need to get more involved?
“He’s incredibly strong, and he loves physical contact. We want him to get more involved, but in any case, he had a good game: once he got going, it was difficult to stop him.”
On Santiago Gimenez: is he being sidelined since you’re looking for another striker?
“I can’t talk about the transfer market. Santi is an important player for us; he arrived on August 4th. He came on straight away, provided an assist, and moved well. We’re happy with him and the whole team.
“Everyone gave 100% in every training session: there was a great atmosphere at Milanello. We’ll enjoy this evening and start thinking about Cremonese tomorrow. This team needs to take it one game at a time and do the best they can.”
Have you spoken to Allegri yet?
“I haven’t seen Allegri; he can’t come into the dressing room. Since I know him, I’d say he’ll be happy with some things and less so with others. We’ll talk about it during the week.”
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