GdS: ‘The indispensable’ – Allegri’s plan to have Rabiot at his best for derby vs. Inter

AC Milan need their best players back for the derby, and Massimiliano Allegri hopes that Adrien Rabiot will be among those at 100%.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write this morning, with Rabiot and Christian Pulisic on the pitch, Milan play more harmoniously, they manage moments better, score goals more easily and concede them far less frequently.

These aren’t mere impressions, the numbers speak for themselves: with the duo on the pitch, the performance is Scudetto-worthy, with a points average of 2.6 per game. The Rossoneri scored nine goals with the Frenchman and American playing, conceding just one: the penalty vs. Napoli.

Like all mathematical theorems, there’s also proof: without them, the points per game average drops to 1.8, the number of goals scored decreases (eight), and the number of goals conceded rises exponentially to six.

Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

A crucial break

Pulisic got back on the field in Parma, missing a late chance to rescue a victory after the team threw away a two-goal lead, but the forward was not at his best. Meanwhile, Allegri and his staff are working to ensure Rabiot’s full recovery.

Adrien’s professionalism is undeniable: he’s been spending long hours at Milanello for days on end, even showing up a couple of days ago on a rest day. Yesterday, he showed up early in the morning and stayed at work until the afternoon.

It’s not a big deal for a player who has chosen to live near Varese, just steps from the training centre. It’s a deliberate choice, not that central Milan doesn’t offer high-quality housing options: Rabiot prefers the quiet and proximity to Milanello.

Upon his arrival, still without a fixed abode, he had settled into a local hotel. The centre remains a popular destination for dinners with family or friends. Above all, his family: Adrien is very reserved, keeping his private life at a distance from his public one.

With the same determination he protects the privacy of his mother-agent Veronique and his two older brothers who very often accompany him even in Italy.

The schedule

In recent weeks, they have supported Rabiot’s work as he recovers from the left calf injury he suffered in mid-October while playing for the national team. Also to avoid misunderstandings with France, Rabiot was ruled out of the final break of the year.

The player has thus remained in Milan to work towards full fitness. He will work all week on his own schedule, thus missing Friday’s friendly against Virtus Entella, before returning to full training on Tuesday when training resumes.

For Max, the former PSG man is a key starter for the derby when the league resumes. Before his injury, Rabiot had played 450 minutes, so five games from start to finish. Four came in the league, with three wins and a draw, and in the Coppa Italia second-round victory.

He is a key technical and tactical asset: Rabiot is a foil for Modric, an assistant playmaker, a skilled passer, but also a solid midfielder with the legs to drive forward and arrive late into the box.

Then there is the contribution of leadership and personality and obviously experience: he has 227 games behind him with PSG, 56 with the French national team, 212 games overall with Juventus and the first five with Milan.

An ever-present

Rabiot has shown an ability to quickly fit into the plans, aided by the presence of his old boss Allegri, and by his astonishing athleticism. Before finding a starting spot in Milan, Adrien had been left out of the Marseille squad following the now-famous brawl with Jon Rowe.

After a month away, Rabiot started his first match with Milan. He repeated the feat in the second, third and fourth. Always for 90 exhausting minutes, including the Coppa Italia.

The injury came while playing for the national team; a seemingly manageable ailment that had kept him in France, turned out to be a much more serious problem than expected. For Adrien and for all of Milan, who without him lost a key figure in the midfield and a guide for the entire team.

The match count also includes the 13 games against Inter, the most faced Italian opponent of his career. All previous meetings date back to Juventus’ history and are unfavorable: four wins, three draws, and six defeats.

He has one goal and one assist against the Nerazzurri (in the first and second games of the 2022-23 season), plus two yellow cards. His first derby in red and black offers the opportunity to start shifting the balance.