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Several players have benefitted from the arrival of Massimiliano Allegri as head coach, but Strahinja Pavlovic already seems to be among his favourites.
As MilanNews recall, Pavlovic’s night can be summed up by the 80-metre sprint in 13.27 seconds, to get on the end of Rafael Leao’s cut-back and score what would turn out to be the winning goal against Roma in a huge victory.
The ‘crazy horse’ continues his runs, to use a term dear to Allegri’s teams. The Serbian has managed to significantly iron out the limitations he displayed last season with the switch to a 3-5-2, and is undoubtedly among the players who have improved most since Max joins.
Strahinja’s rise
Defensively, Pavlovic feels comfortable on the left, both with Davide Bartesaghi and Pervis Estupinan. He is probably a bit relieved that he no longer has the leadership duties he had with a back four, where he plays as part of a pairing.
Now that Matteo Gabbia is there as the anchor, directing the orchestra in the middle, he can make the most of his physicality. At times, he seems unpredictable in his technique and movement, but in reality this seems to be a major asset.
Against Napoli, his run to the left byline created the chaos and space leading to Christian Pulisic’s goal which made it 2-0. In modern football and especially in Serie A, man-marking is used a lot so having an unexpected runner can cause disruption to breach blocks.
Last night, he also made the difference on the counter-attack. He followed Leao all the way down the field and even beat arrived in the box before him. After the game, he revealed that it was an instruction from the coach.
“Goals are something I enjoy. The coach also appreciates these types of runs; he gives me a lot of direction. And as I was running, I thought about what he told me: when Rafa runs, you have to try to create space and create chances. And that’s what I did,” he said.
A year at Milan has helped him mature, and quickly. He has gone from decisive incidents being ones that cost the game, to being ones that win them. At 24, Pavlovic will become a father too as yesterday’s celebration with the ball under his shirt showed.
How much does Allegri believe in him? So far, he’s started every single game, both in Serie A and the Coppa Italia. He’s also the only left-footed centre-back in the squad, a rare commodity these days, but he’s proving on the pitch that the manager’s faith is absolutely well-placed.
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