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Massimiliano Allegri is hoping that the midfield will be AC Milan’s strength, heading into a crucial early-season game against Bologna.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports, Allegri is banking on his stellar midfield. With Rafael Leao still out and set to miss Saturday’s match against Udinese – only to return on the 28th at San Siro against Napoli – the coach will deploy four of his midfield leaders.
This includes new arrival Adrien Rabiot, who arrived at Milanello on Thursday morning and will start immediately. They will face Bologna, who won the Coppa Italia against the Diavolo on May 14th, thus eliminating them from European competition.
At Milanello and the surrounding area, there’s a strong desire for revenge, while Allegri – rather than focusing on the 2024-25 season – is thinking about the defeat in their league debut at San Siro against Cremonese.
Choices
Leao, as mentioned, is still out. Pulisic, on the other hand, is not 100% fit after his overseas commitments with the United States. The former Juventus coach wants to keep him for the restart, as a wild card to change the course of the match if necessary.
That’s why Fofana and Rabiot will be in midfield, flanking Modric, with Loftus-Cheek as the attacking midfielder behind striker Gimenez. Gimenez scored a brace in May’s league match against the Rossoblu and would desperately need a goal to put his difficult start to the season behind him.
“Santi will have a great season,” Allegri predicted in his presser, while regarding Nkunku he explained: “He’s had two good weeks of work with us after working separately in the summer against Chelsea. He’s got 25-30 minutes left in him.” Too few to hope to start the match.
Player management
Last night, the team remained in training camp at Milanello, where they had trained that afternoon. For lunch, Allegri received a visit from CEO Furlani and sporting director Tare, with whom he reviewed the situation after the international break.
Max expects a strong restart from the team, which needs to make progress, especially defensively: “What I really like is that we’re working well and want to improve. I feel a sense of responsibility towards the team, the club, and the fans from everyone.
“We’ll need to maintain balance and find the right cohesion because we’ve changed ten players. However, I’m very confident about this because I see the right willingness to sacrifice during the week. Would we have definitely finished in the top four with Vlahovic?
“It’s impossible to say ‘you win or lose with him’: in football, there are too many variables. The important thing is to be good at managing the unexpected. There are no guaranteed victories. What’s certain is that we only have work to do.”
A doubt
Before Milan-Bologna, Allegri’s horse, Mr. Darcy, will return to racing this afternoon on the first Sunday of the season at the Capannelle Racecourse. The Rossoneri coach will inquire about Mr. Darcy’s performance, but his thoughts are primarily with his team.
The final session was this morning, with set-piece exercises: the only doubt to be resolved is defense, with Pavlovic favored over De Winter, who has been tested in recent days.
However, Max wants everyone on the bench to be ready: “In football, we used to make three substitutions, now we make five, and substitutions are crucial because they determine the result in the final half hour.”
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