Just one defeat in 42 meetings: Milan’s incredibly one-sided record vs. Cagliari

AC Milan kick off 2026 with what is on paper a tough Friday night away game against Cagliari, but the record books suggest differently.

Milan signed off 2025 with a comfortable 3-0 home triumph over Hellas Verona on December 28, to secure second spot. Tonight, a new test awaits against a Cagliari side that the Rossoneri actually failed to beat last year, with a 3-3 draw in Sardinia and a 1-1 draw at San Siro.

A remarkable record

In terms of opponents that Milan have played a large number of games against, Cagliari might just be one of the most one-sided records. The two sides have battled it out 93 times before, with the Diavolo obtaining 54 wins and just nine defeats, with 30 draws.

As mentioned, Cagliari got two draws last season but prior to that they had lost nine of 10 against Milan. There were some hammerings in there too, with a 5-1 and a couple of 4-1 scorelines in favour of the Diavolo.

The last time Milan lost to the islanders was in the 2016-17 season (with the same referee as tonight), and since then, there have been 11 wins and four draws. Prior to that defeat, you have to go back to October 1998 for the last time the Rossoneri lost to the Rossoblu, and another 16 months for the last time they were defeated at San Siro, with both being 1-0 in Cagliari’s favour.

In fact, Cagliari actually racked up six of their nine wins against Milan across all competitions before the end of the 1970s. So, there are not many fixtures that are as one-sided over such a large sample size, but tonight the pressure is on Massimiliano Allegri’s men.