CorSport: Tactical encouragement and intrigue arises from Milan’s win over Bari

AC Milan began their second Massimiliano Allegri era with a victory in the Coppa Italia against Bari, one that he wasn’t on the sidelines for.

As Corriere dello Sport write, Allegri picked up where he left off at Juventus 459 days ago, with a Coppa victory. In that game his team lifted the trophy, his 12th as a head coach, and the only one in Juventus’s last four seasons.

That final victory against Atalanta cost Allegri a two-match suspension in the Coppa Italia, so yesterday he once again handed over the San Siro bench to Marco Landucci and settled into the stands to enjoy the show.

Since ‘calm’ is always needed, as he himself says, it’s best to make things clear right away: Bari, despite all their determination and their decent quality (for Serie B), cannot be the right opponent to provide serious and completely credible information on Allegri’s side.

Positive indications

That said, the responses from the Coppa Italia round of 32 are comforting and encouraging for the new/former Milan coach, suggesting he continue in this direction.

He is likely to keep using a three-man defence, with Leao as centre-forward, Pulisic as the creator, two box-to-box midfielders (Loftus-Cheek and Fofana) who run forward and shoot, a true regista (Ricci) , and a combined movement that gives the team confidence.

Leao scored the first goal, but then felt his calf tightening and decided to leave the field immediately. The experiment, like everything else, will require more substantial testing. Gimenez, who replaced the Portuguese, played the striker role in a more natural way.

The obvious question is: if a real centre-forward arrives at Milan, like Hojlund or Vlahovic, where will Leao go? Will he return to the wing or play alongside the new arrival? And if the latter, will Pulisic (already in excellent condition) drop behind the two forwards or stay on the wing like he did last night?

The answer can only come once the season has started. The three-man defence (Tomori, Gabbia, and Pavlovic from right to left) passed a test that was too easy, like a college student facing a final exam. However, it seemed that both Pavlovic and Tomori (who provided the assist for Leao’s goal) were comfortable.

Allegri was also listened to by the team regarding the type of match. He wanted a ‘responsible’ game, and so it was. Milan started attacking immediately, only stopping after securing the result in the second half. The league season will provide definitive answers, of course.