19 hours ago
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Massimiliano Allegri is famed for his work developing individuals to form a stronger group, and he is doing it again with AC Milan.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Mike Maignan and Christian Pulisic were the stars of the derby win over Inter, which is perhaps not too unusual. However, in order to go deep in the Scudetto race, everyone will have to contribute at some point, and so far they are.
The growth of individuals
To address some of the squad’s weaknesses, Allegri is managing to elevate the performances of several players, who have gone from being good to excellent. At least four can be identified, without discrediting others: Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic, Alexis Saelemaekers, and Davide Bartesaghi.
They have different paths, because the Italians are all academy graduates, the Belgian has been out on loan, while the Serbian struggled at first after being acquired in 2024 but stayed and is now in top form.
Gabbia, as demonstrated by even simple but sensible gestures, is a leader and a captain without the armband. He hasn’t missed a single minute, the only one in the squad, and he has continued the physical and mental progress of last season.
Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso was in the stands on Sunday and will have seen it first hand.. His focus and concentration are his stand-out qualities, along with a remarkable internal stability that has allowed him to climb the hierarchy.
The Milan academy graduate was among those who was almost overlooked in the summer, when the search for an experienced centre-back began to complete the defensive trio the new coach wanted to build his starting line-up around.
Saelemaekers is a different story: after loans to Bologna and especially Roma (amassing seven goals and seven assists with the latter), he needed to be put to the test. Allegri believed in him from the start: his pace and versatility are useful to the cause and now he is an immovable starter.
Milan have also found an added striker in certain situations too. The tactical freedom the coach has granted Saelemaekers – such as the ability to run diagonally and drift centrally – produced goals against Napoli and Parma, and a big hand in the derby winner.
Pavlovic is another reliable soldier who has always been a regular starter, but has yet to reach full maturity. He is 24, and according to Max, he can get even better. Against Inter, he gave away a potentially costly penalty that Mike Maignan saved, but his overall performances are satisfactory.
When Pavlovic breaks the defensive line and gallops forward in possession, he causes chaos and creates space for others. It almost makes you forget his primary role: numbing the opposition’s attackers.
Bartesaghi, on the other hand, is another product of the youth system. He has become a man at Milanello, and has always been a Milanista on the pitch. His first derby as a starter, at just 19 years of age, showed how much he has grown.
The left-back was part of the Milan Futuro project, and Allegri has shown he’s not afraid to hand him responsibility. You win and lose as a team, but above all, you climb the standings when you have a team where not only Luka Modric, Rafael Leao, Adrien Rabiot, Maignan and Pulisic contribute.
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