GdS: What a difference a year makes – Milan send message with convincing Verona win

AC Milan made sure that they ended the year just one point off top spot with a convincing win over Hellas Verona on Sunday.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) points out how nobody would have expected Milan to still be right in amongst the Scudetto race a few months ago. They could have even been top going into 2026, but for Inter’s narrow win against Atalanta in the late kick-off.

Milan can’t complain too much about failing to overtake them: after all, 12 months ago they finished 2024 in eighth place, with 27 points, and sacked Paulo Fonseca. This is enough to understand the leap forward.

Even looking at the calendar year table there are reasons for positivity: the Rossoneri finished 2025 with 71 points (+5) from 37 games, plus one trophy (the Supercoppa Italiana) and a final lost (the Coppa Italia). That trophy feels like a long time ago, and Milan are already out of both cup competitions this season.

The past is a closed door that must be scrutinised only to avoid repeating the same mistakes. So, while the coach continues to set the Champions League objective as the one his team can achieve, the 3-0 win over Verona brings him other good news, beyond the standings.

A turning point?

Without Rafael Leao, with Niclas Füllkrug only in the stands and Santi Gimenez out for a long time, Christopher Nkunku managed to inflate his balloon for the first time in the league. Amid frustrations and the transfer rumours, he got off the mark with a penalty and then a bit of striker’s instinct.

Everyone loves him, judging by the celebrations on the pitch and the penalty awarded to him after orders from the bench and a discussion with Luka Modric and Christian Pulisic, the delightful leaders of yesterday as well.

The real Nkunku was seen when set up Ruben Loftus-Cheek with a classy low through ball, too. Could it be a case of having one more useful player and one less to sell on the market? We’ll see in the next few matches.

Allegri certainly can’t be displeased with the abundance of quality, as he’s constantly struggling with the problems of the Leao-Pulisic duo: when one is there, the other isn’t (they’ve played 135 minutes together this season).

There’s also reason for optimism that Milan haven’t been shackled by a team in the bottom half, after dropping points to Cremonese, Parma, Pisa and Sassuolo. They’ve also managed to capitalise on Verona’s mistakes, without committing any themselves in danger.

The Diavolo hadn’t won a home game by three goals in 13 months, they’ve also managed to get a 12th different scorer (only Inter and Juventus have had one more), and they’ve added their eighth clean sheet of the season after conceding seven goals in their other four December matches.

Milan will now face Cagliari, Genoa, Fiorentina, Como, and Lecce between January 2nd and 18th. They aren’t big teams, but perhaps they’re less intimidating now.