Di Stefano explains difference with Allegri as Pioli also ‘wanted to win 1-0’

Peppe Di Stefano has shared an interesting background on the difference between Stefano Pioli and Massimiliano Allegri, with the latter opting to do things fully his way. 

Pioli achieved a lot of success during his five-year spell at the club, winning the Scudetto in 2021-22 and reaching the Champions League semi-finals in 2022-23. In the end, however, he and the club arrived at a natural farewell.

Milan then tried their luck with some foreign managers, namely Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao, before going back to the Italian route with Allegri. So far, with the Scudetto race very much alive, it has been a successful move for the club.

Different decisions made

There have been some big changes since Allegri arrived, above all the playing style with can only be described as Corto Muso. As the manager has said many times, it’s not about entertaining everyone, the most important thing is collecting the points.

In an interview with MilanVibes, Sky Italia’s Peppe Di Stefano discussed the changes at Milan and mainly the differences between Pioli and Allegri. While the former opted not to do what he really wanted, the same cannot be said for the current manager.

“Milan are playing much less in attack than before. Pioli’s Milan created a lot, it was an attacking game whether they won, drew or lost. I remember an interview with Pioli when he said ‘I wanted to win 1-0’, but he understood that with this team, you need one more goal than the opponent.

“It doesn’t work like that with Allegri. He said it right from the start, ‘we first need to defend our goal, then we will score’. Milan are playing a very careful and pragmatic style of football in the defensive phase.”