QS: Tour de force survived – consistency remains as Allegri’s run continues

Massimiliano Allegri is a head coach who loves numbers, and this season they are smiling on his AC Milan side.

As Quotidiano Sportivo recall, the first calculation that Allegri did was what is needed to get back into the Champions League. Last year, around this time, Milan emerged from a fiery midday match at San Siro against Parma with a narrow victory thanks to two goals in added time.

Conceiçao and Calabria clashed at the end of the match. Back then Milan were on 34 points, in eighth place, five points behind the Champions League spots and 19 points behind Napoli, who eventually won the Scudetto. Now, the Rossoneri have 13 points more, and they are five points above fifth.

Consistency is key

Milan’s was and remains the thinnest squad in the entire league, with 23 total players and 20 outfield players. That is the reason that Allegri uses the least substitutions of any Serie A coach, and by quite some distance.

At the Olimpico, in the hard-fought draw against Roma, Allegri was still able to count on good choices on the bench: Pulisic, Füllkrug, Loftus-Cheek, as well as Athekame (who came on), plus Pavlovic, Jashari and Fofana.

It was a rarity that the bench was so full, aside from the injured Gimenez, who won’t return any time soon. Not to mention the ailments that have been hampering players like Leao, Pulisic, and Füllkrug for some time now.

Photos by AC Milan

Pulling the covers off in both directions, Allegri has racked up a remarkable 21 consecutive unbeaten games, even remaining unbeaten in his latest tour de force of seven games in 28 days: 13 wins, eight draws, a unique streak in major European leagues.

Meanwhile, the final days of the transfer window are approaching, and AC Milan are keeping a close eye on the present and the immediate future, which is June. In defence, contacts are being maintained for 23-year-old Radu Dragusin from Spurs. Mario Gila is a target for the summer.

The first piece for the future will be Mike Maignan. All that remains is the announcement of his contract extension until 2031, a €7m net per season contract including bonuses. Up front, the highly sought-after Jean-Philippe Mateta could be allowed to leave.

For the summer, the well-known free transfer target Dusan Vlahovic is still in vogue, as is Leon Goretzka who is also on an expiring deal. Christopher Nkunku, Youssouf Fofana and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have attracted interest, but currently seem likely to stay.