GdS: ‘Mister Scudetto’ – why Milan have reasons to dream of the second star

This season, dreams of a Scudetto are manifesting more and AC Milan cannot avoid them anymore. It is a very tangible goal.

In the summer, Milan stated that they wanted to return to the Champions League. A feasible goal indeed, keeping themselves grounded and not aiming too high, nor making fans ask for too much of them.

Now, with questions about the Scudetto, they are not shying away from it. In fact, Davide Bartesaghi suggested that it was one of the squad’s aims now.

A crucial month

As Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, Massimiliano Allegri had a nearly perfect month in charge of the Rossoneri. The win against Lazio saw his team end November with a 2.33 points per game record, all whilst gaining ground over their rivals.

Sacrifice, unity and cohesion were demanded from him, and he got it, squeezing everything out of his squad with limited options available. The players themselves also deserve recognition: Mike Maignan’s saves, Luka Modric’s leadership and Rafael Leao’s goals.

There are no signs of things collapsing. Instead, the team will probably only get better as they become more accustomed to their roles.

Super streak

The signs of Allegri’s work are clear. In just a few months, his team were transformed into a title contender, miles away from the team that underwhelmed heavily last season. Then there are the results against the top teams.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

It started from the back for the Italian, fixing a broken defence and then adding traits moving forward. Whilst mistakes still occur, they are less damaging than they have been previously, and far less common. Signs of a mentally stronger team, perhaps more than a rise in quality (which has still been the case).

As a result, they have picked up 20 points from eight games against top teams, a record no one else comes close to.

Progress

The issue now, shockingly perhaps, is the games against the smaller teams. Cremonese, Pisa and Parma only brought two points from nine. However, Max has confidence that he can bring these performances to the required level.

His goal, at least the primary one, will remain the Champions League. However, others are focusing on the title, which is a possibility. Reinforcements are needed, and Igli Tare and Giorgio Furlani want to help.

Together they want to feed into the dreams, and so January could be a month to swim rather than imagine what may have been.