AC Milan’s training retreat got underway yesterday, in a bid to reunite the squad ahead of 180 minutes that will determine their fate.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write that the ‘ritiro’ officially began last night with a team dinner at Milanello. Among those at the table was sporting director Igli Tare, always close to the coaching staff and players during this particularly difficult time.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
The Rossoneri are coming off two (disastrous) consecutive defeats that have complicated their quest for the Champions League when the finish line seemed so close. Now, Milan can no longer afford to slip up: they must win against Genoa and Cagliari to achieve their minimum goal.
To return to winning, they must regain the solidity, unity, and cohesion lost in recent weeks. The need for the training camp – decided in full agreement between the coach and the management – stems from this shared concern.
All together
On Friday, the players will train at 12:00 CEST. First, a session in the video room to plan the moves needed to checkmate Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa. At the Ferraris, Allegri will be without Luka Modric, who will continue his recovery plan.
Alexis Saelemaekers, Pervis Estupinan, and Rafael Leao are all suspended, having picked up yellow cards in the last match against Atalanta. The three suspended players are still in training camp with the rest of the squad, a further show of the desire to build togetherness.
The blackout of seven points in eight games could cost Milan very dearly. The term ‘very dearly’ is not chosen by chance, as failing to qualify for the Champions League would have a significant impact on the club’s accounts and, therefore, on their spending capacity in the summer window.
The team will sleep at Milanello again tonight. Tomorrow, Allegri will hold the pre-match press conference at the training centre (probably at noon), then Milan will train and depart for Genoa. A night in Liguria before a fiery 90 minutes across five pitches in this crazy top four battle.
Possible choices
Allegri will resolve the small line-up doubts in the coming days. The main one concerns the attack, where Christian Pulisic will return, having missed the match against Atalanta due to a glute strain sustained in the final training session.
He will be fit and ready to play, but for now the expected starting pairing is Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Füllkrug. The Frenchman and the former West Ham player have made a good impact off the bench against Atalanta, and Max seems intent on trusting them. Santiago Gimenez was also tested.
In defence, Fikayo Tomori returns after being sidelined by his sending-off against Sassuolo. The Englishman faces a battle with Koni De Winter for a spot alongside Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic. Zachary Athekame will replace Saelemaekers on the right flank, while Davide Bartesaghi stays in.
In midfield, Adrien Rabiot remains the main man. Samuele Ricci, Youssouf Fofana, and Ardon Jashari are competing for the other two spots, with the first two favoured. If the Frenchman ends up on the bench, Ardon Jashari will likely operate as a regista with Ricci box-to-box.
Maignan- De Winter (Tomori), Gabbia, Pavlovic- Athekame, Fofana, Ardon (Ricci), Rabiot, Bartesaghi- Pulisic/Nkunku, Gimenez/Fullkrug/Nkunku.
Pulisic – Gimenez – Nkunku
Nothing to lose andiamo ragazzi
What do you mean, we have everything to lose.
If we don’t play offensively and score, Genoa can punish us at any moment. We have to attack, because if we don’t win, Champions League qualification is out of scope.That’s why I say we have nothing to lose, playing safe won’t be enough.
Allegri really is a clueless putz if he decides to start two subs in attack, after 10 minutes of garbage time positive moments. I guess that is supposed to erase any doubt after an entire season of ineffective play. Hopefully, this is the final motivation Pulisic needs to demand a transfer, after perpetual disrespect from this coach. I wish Marco Landucci could coach these last games.
Allegri is doing it yet again. I’ve said this every match for the last month…play your best players if they’re available. Allegri is wishing there’s offensive chemistry between Fulkrug and Nkunku…there’s not, they just played well together for 15 minutes when we were chasing points in a match. If there was real chemistry it would have emerged over the season.
If Pulisic is available you play him in place of either of these guys. If you lose and you haven’t started the players most likely to help the club then you have no excuse when media/fans/management/players question your choices. I also think you try Santi with Pulisic as starters, they are the only two forwards who we’ve seen any consistent chemistry over the course of the season.
It’s less about who plays up top; it’s more about how they play. Are there numbers in support? Will the front line play on the front foot- will they be advanced in their positioning. Does Allegri press at times or constantly get 10 men sitting in their shape behind the ball? At half time the American commentators ripped how passive ACM played. Playing clips of how when they tried to attack quickly there were no options. Sitting 10 yards off the ball when Atalanta was starting to move the ball forward. If it’s Allegri playing scared again it doesn’t matter who you play.