AC Milan have seen a potential dream fade into a nightmare in the past few weeks, and now they must stabilise.
With their Scudetto hopes dashed after the defeat at Napoli, Milan also failed in their next home match against Udinese, and now Champions League qualification is also at risk. The five-point gap over fifth-placed Como may seem reassuring, but it has been cut from nine points two games ago.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Therefore, it will be crucial to get back on track immediately, starting with their next match at Hellas Verona. Juventus will also be at San Siro a week later, in what will be a real crossroads for the Champions League.
Preaching calm
Massimiliano Allegri continues to urge his team to keep their heads despite Milan’s slump in recent weeks. Putting further pressure on this group would be pointless, so the Livorno native is right to try to keep his players calm, but at the same time demands an immediate reaction.
Much like he did after the defeat at Lazio (March 15), when in the post-match he emphasised a very specific concept that still applies today: “Let’s stay calm, but be careful. It takes a lot of work to build, but it only takes a week to ruin everything. Saturday’s match against Torino is vital for the Champions League race.”
A victory against the Granata followed, and there is the feeling that the Verona game is an absolute must-win. Qualification for next season’s Champions League is entirely in Milan’s hands, and they can’t throw away the good work done so far by Allegri and his players.
It must be said that after the eighth-placed finish in 2024-25, this group have so far exceeded expectations, because it was presumed that even top four would be a battle, especially after a summer streamlining of the squad that left just 19 outfield players.
In other words, Milan were not near the top in the Serie A title odds heading into the run-in, reflecting their inconsistency compared to Inter and Juventus. While seeing Inter lift the Scudetto again will be painful, the Diavolo have to run their own race and focus on step one, which is getting back into Europe’s top club competition.
It remains a positive campaign, so it would be a huge shame to ruin everything in a matter of days. Max knows his team isn’t in great form, but now isn’t the time to give up. In fact, they need to unite and consolidate even more, because the Champions League objective depends solely on the Rossoneri.
