GdS: ‘Allegri votes Nkunku’ – Frenchman to lead line in Pisa with aim to put pressure on Inter

AC Milan are back in action 10 days since they last played and won in Serie A, hoping for a good Friday night by the leaning tower.

In their sixth and final away game of the last 42 days, La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning that Massimiliano Allegri will choose to make minimal changes from the 3-0 win against Bologna because he liked what he saw.

The attacking duo of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christopher Nkunku will remain therefore, with the latter determined to confirm his status as the Rossoneri’s top scorer since Christmas. The former Chelsea player, now on five goals in Serie A, has got firing after a difficult start.

Now the settling in process is complete and his physical condition back to 100%, the Frenchman will start for the third game in a row and aims to improve on his record, which has seen him score five goals in the last six games he’s played.

In Bologna, alongside Adrien Rabiot, he was the best player. He was part of the build-up to make it 1-0 before winning and converting the penalty that doubled the lead. It’s inevitable for him to dream of another night like this as a protagonist. He came to Milan with this objective.

Over to Nkunku

Nkunku arrived from Chelsea at the end of August for €37m plus bonuses and signed a contract until 2030. The Rossoneri opted for him when they decided to acquire a striker with technique, rathe than a more traditional centre-forward with size and height.

The ex-Leipzig star’s first few months weren’t easy due to his poor physical condition and an injury sustained while playing for the national team, but now the Diavolo have understood his value and are relying on him in their pursuit of the Champions League, and Inter.

The No.18 – who wants a great end to the season to convince Deschamps to take him to the World Cup – has no intention of stopping now. Not everything went as he hoped for with the Blues, so this is a revenge mission of sorts.

Nkunku can play in any position, including centre-forward, but in Bologna he showed his best when he was alongside a teammate like Loftus-Cheek, who opened up space for him. In yesterday’s training session, the two were tested together again, although Rafael Leao alternated with both towards the end.

The same midfield was also tried: Zachary Athekame and Davide Bartesaghi on the wings, Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot in the middle. The only change from the last match will be Fikayo Tomori in place of Koni De Winter, partnering Matte Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic.

Allegri is 58 years old and in Pisa will reach his 530th game as a Serie A coach. The next three games will be a trio against coaches under 40: Hiljemark (33 years old), Fabregas (38) and Cuesta (30).

Since yesterday evening the team have been at a training retreat in Tirrenia where they were welcomed by locals with great enthusiasm, Leao and Modric above all. Tonight won’t be a catwalk, Max knows that well.