AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri has explained his selection choices for the Bologna game, including starting with Christian Pulisic on the bench.
Milan are back in league action after the international break and they are hoping to build on the 2-0 win over Lecce two weeks ago. Bologna will be a tough opponent though, with memories of the Coppa Italia final defeat exactly four months ago still fresh.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Massimiliano Allegri has made just one change from that Lecce victory with new signing Adrien Rabiot slotting straight into the midfield. However, the system has been tweaked a bit to a 3-5-1-1 – at least on paper – because of the absence of forwards.
Allegri spoke to DAZN not long before kick-off to preview the game against Bologna, and his comments were relayed by MilanNews.
What step forward do you want to see from the team today?
“The first step forward is to win the first match at home. As for the first two, we also played well against Cremonese; there were two mistakes on two crosses. Bologna have technical pace, so it will be a different game. We’ll need to play well defensively and develop our attack as best we can.”
Santiago Gimenez gets the start…
“He’d played well in previous games too, but had two goals disallowed. We all hope he scores tonight. He’s a good player, he’s Milan’s centre-forward, and we’re all happy to have him.”
Why Pulisic on the bench?
“Very simple: I think it’s a game that should be played like this with these players. I have Nkunku on the bench, who has 25 minutes, and Pulisic, who is back from international duty, can become an important substitution.
“He’s an important goal-scoring player; he’s already scored two goals. Balentien is a young player with good qualities. We have Ricci, Athekame, Bartesaghi; I have the substitutions tonight.”
How important is that ‘stranger’ [Rabiot]? And why ‘vagabondo’? Is that a Livorno expression?
“He’s a bit of a vagabond (laughs). The club has done a good job, they’ve raised their revenue. We need to do well tonight, finding the win against Bologna, who are now a force in the Italian league, and then keep working.”
I don’t like it. Pulisic has the minutes in him
I agree! Admittedly, I’m an American who is protective our greatest soccer prodigy but it just feels like Alegri used the travel as an excuse to try a big physical lineup with Rabbiot and Loftus-Cheek. As soon as he came on, Pulisic showed he is the attacking spark the fires this team. We are a far more dangerous team when Pulisic is on the pitch. Because he is so explosive and can beat tired defenders late in a game, coaches want to hang this “super-sub” role on him. I can only hope this is not the beginning of a rotation where three players are fighting for 1 spot. While I recognize we are a far better defensive team with Alegri, I really don’t enjoy our style. I also worry that Alegri doesn’t truly appreciate and respect Pulisic’s value. I was curious to see who would have taken the penalty kick, because I would have seen that as a sign of Alegri’s level of respect for Pulli. Another thing that worries me about Alegri’s player evaluation is not starting Ricci! Obviously, Alegri knows more than me but I’m starting to see signs that Alegri is stubborn about playing favorites ahead of better players. I don’t see why he won’t start a former serie A captain and future National team star who plays great every time he plays. It’s obvious to me he’s better than Fofana.
I agree with you. Ricci at this moment seems a better player than Fofana.
He should be starting ahead of Fofana.
I admit as an American I am very biased, but I don’t think I’m wrong to suggest it is crazy not to start Pulisic and expect that if this continues he will feel he has returned to the miserable Chelsea era with constant manager changes resulting in him going from best player to super-sub??? Who does that and what high value and high quality player will accept it?? He has been excellent and needs to be supported with more playing time.
It’s not an american thing to review statistics. puli over the last few years has not only been the most consistent play for AC milan, but in all of Series A. The guy was just coming off an amazing game against Japan. Show me any other player with his stats that would be on the bench. Gimenez made the same trip and started. Demoralize Puli at our own peril.
Pulisic didn’t start when Leao was out and Nkunku was not fit. When those two guys are full strength Pulisic won’t have a chance to start under Allegri. Sad. Maybe he will get some cup games. And transfer in January. Maybe he will get Champions League Football this season!!! I wanted him to sign new contract. Turns out he was right to wait.