Massimiliano Allegri spoke to the media after AC Milan’s 0-0 draw against Juventus, echoing that the Rossoneri should have got more from the game.
It ended up being a rather cagey affair at Allianz Stadium as Milan and Juventus both preferred to defend low, without giving too much away. That said, the Rossoneri had some golden opportunities to win the game, as we also discussed in our player ratings.
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Speaking to DAZN just a few minutes ago (via MilanNews), Allegri shared his thoughts on the performance. Among other things, he acknowledged that Rafael Leao showcased great movement but had to score his chance at the end, which makes all the difference.
Pulisic’s missed penalty…
“I didn’t even see where it went, but sometimes penalties are missed. It was a balanced first half. They did well at closing down spaces and the ball circulation was very slow. We didn’t attack their defence a lot with our midfielders.
“In the second half, we improved physically and we had several chances, although they had the first when Maignan made a great save. Then, at the crucial moment, when we had Juventus under control, we could have been more aggressive and clinical.
“The positive side is that we didn’t concede and we extended our unbeaten run. The negative side is that at certain moments of the game, you have to be more aggressive. The game should have been won.”
Everyone is waiting for Leao, where is he? Two clear chances missed tonight…
“This was the first week of proper work for him, he was out for 45 days. Last Sunday, I had to sub him on out of necessity. He also worked well during the week, even if he still has to get back to full fitness. We really need him to, just like we need Nkunku. They are players who can decide games for us.”
Can we see Leao, Pulisic and Nkunku together?
“The important thing is that everyone is in good shape. Nkunku arrived late, on August 30th, and Leao was out for 45 days, so we still need a little patience.
“It’s only normal that the more technical players we have, the better. It’s also true that substitutions become important. In the final half hour, when you have players like Leao and Nkunku, they can certainly change the game.”
What does Leao need to do to become clinical like a striker?
“It’s not a new position for him. If I’m not mistaken, he already played as a centre-forward at Lille. His movement on Modric’s pass was striker-esque. However, when someone like Leao gets there, he has to score.
“He needs to make a leap, and when he gets there, he needs to understand that he has to make a difference because he’s important to the team.”
What was it like returning to Allianz Stadium?
“It was emotional. I saw so many people I worked with, who supported me during the eight years at Juventus, and we celebrated and cried, because sometimes we lost. It was emotional. I just have to say thank you, just like I thank the fans.
“Now I’m at Milan and we still have a lot to do. We will take home tonight’s point as we didn’t concede, but we definitely could have done better. We have to understand the timing of the game. When there’s a moment to attack the opponent, you have to attack.”
In hindsight, would you have kept Gimenez in?
“Gimenez had a good game, especially when he won the penalty, showing off good movement. He’s a guy who works hard for the team, and that’s very important.
“However, at that point, I thought about bringing in fresh players with great technical ability. Even Pulisic, despite the penalty miss, had a great game.”
The international break is up next, meaning some of the Milan players will get some extra time to work on tactics at Milanello. A lot of them will be busy elsewhere, though, including Matteo Gabbia who has finally been called up for Italy.
very dissapointed , however this game was nothing bad. we got a point out of it against a top 4 team , we can overtake roma with a win vs them and napoli will eventually drop points, subbing leao on was the problem as he is not back to full fitness
Since when should we be happy to draw a game we had in our hands three times…accepting mediocrity is becoming normal. This is a game we have to win. This isnt CR7 Juve, or BBC Juve. It is a side under reconstruction we should have punished.
With no more than 5 players form last year, which Milan is this? Van Basten Milan or ?
Mediocrity is a revolution every season and endless short term, reactive planning.
This is a long season. The season is not determined by away draws against Juve. It’s determined by home wins against Lecce.
Since when? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Milan was 8th last season.
We were scared to win.
It may seem like people pick on Leao, and I know he has been out for 45 days, but honestly, he is like a symbol of the lazy careless milan of the past seasons. Yes he won a scudetto with us, but even his narket value has dropped because to be quite honest he has been crap. The two misses in this match was quite an opportunity to prove his value, making a difference on in a game where pulisic missed. He could have even passed the ball to nkunku for one of his chances. Pulisic has carried us for the run of wins and its tough to accuse him because we can see that he tried his best. There was one limitation I observed with pulisic tho. He is not so good at one v one to beat his marker. He choked in one of those 1v1 situations. We need a player who can beat his marker in 1v1 situations. We need killers in front of goal. Pulisic is good and how much better if he was to play with a great dribbler to beat his marker. Leao was like that but as we said before it seems like he is unable to do that.
Milan on the good form without Leao. Milan good form with togetherness, work hard with whole team as unite. Maybe you’re right *@robias* .. leao it’s symbol past Milan. But actually if allegri play together puli-gimenez-leao, maybe Milan will kill the game early…
You just described Leao. He’s the best 1v1 player on the team. I totally understand the criticisms that fans have of him. But in terms of striking fear in a team’s defenders, that’s Leao. Let’s hope he’s back to that player after the break, because this team will be much better with that Leao.
Typical Seri A big game early 2000. Not much attack, just round and round, passing and passing. 0-0
But actually last night milan should win the game. Clear chance from gimenez, leao and from the penalty spot. Allegri should try play together: puli-leao-gimenez, they will kill the game.
That’s exactly what I was thinking too. It seemed like a throwback to the early 2000s, but in those days most of the big clubs were using 4-4-2. Now that’s what’s going to happen when you get two relatively well matched sides using 3-5-2 in a low block playing against each other.
Yes we should have won and yes Leao should have scored. And yes Puli should have scored. And Yes even Giminez should have also scored. And that’s about the chances we have. Big game, small details being home the three points.. hard luck there boys but the path of going in the right direction
I had posted earlier…. Leao is a lazy player. He is often like half a man missing in the field. He seldom excels in big matches
It’s time to sell him in Jan 26
Good playing and great result.
In my opinion, this 352 system doesn’t suit our forwards. Leao, Pulisic ,Nkunku explode when playing on the wings (which is their natural position). The 433 or 343 seems to be the best.
the club always talks about “balance” but at the moment the formation is unbalanced – it’s far too defensive.
What about Kelly penalty, why no yellow or red card
The ref was favoring Juve with the cards. Fofana got a yellow but one of the Juve players didn’t for 1:1 identical foul. And even a red wouldn’t have been out of the question for Kelly as it was a clear scoring chance for Gimenez.
Well if our attack was doing their job today and they scored one of the 5 amazing chances we had we’d win. Simple. But all 3 missed great chances and Nkunku was like a cone on the field, useless.
I don’t know what is some people interest with selling Leao ? If you sell him ,whom are we gonna buy to replace him ???? I understand everyone’s pains that he missed a great chanced. I was angry with him too yesterday. I could not sleep well the entire night because of the missed opportunity. We had Juventus under our armpit at the tail end of the match. But we should not throw the baby out with bathwater.We all know what he can do when he is inform.. Let blame him with love. He is our jewel.
Semenyo at Bournemouth – makes Leao look basic..
they had Gatti, Rugani and Kelly in defense ffs, this was the time to try out Leao Nkunku & Pulisic together.
I don’t know what we’re waiting on with Nkunku either, it’s not like he did nothing in pre-season with Chelsea. He’s not injured, he’s looked good, he cost a LOT of money. It’s time to play the guy.