Lazio 1-0 AC Milan: Five things we learned – concerns emerge with Milan beaten at their own game

It was supposed to be the night that the Scudetto race exploded into life, but instead AC Milan were left licking their wounds after a defeat to Lazio.

Milan went into the game with a simple mission on paper: to win and cut the gap to Inter down to five points, after they drew with Atalanta on Saturday at San Siro. Had the Rossoneri done their bit, the margin would have gone from 10 points before the derby to half of that inside a week.

However, Gustav Isaksen had other plans as he scored the only goal in the game in the first half. Milan then dominated the second half, at least in terms of territory, but they were unable to break down a resolute albeit makeshift Lazio side.

It means that Inter have actually gained ground, with the gap up to eight. It will take a miracle now to engineer a comeback in the title race now, and with Como, Juventus and Napoli all winning, the chasing pack got closer. Ivan Stoev has five things we learned from a bad night in the capital.

1. One step forward, two steps back 

Allegri put his faith into Pervis Estupiñán following his derby performance where the Ecuadorian scored the only goal of the gamem resulting in Milan taking all three points from city rivals Inter and reigniting the title race.

As we’ve come to realise with the left-back he struggles to find continuity which is one of the reasons why Davide Bartesaghi made that starting spot his throughout the season. It was no different against Lazio where Estupiñán was easily the flop of the game as he did miserably on the goal.

Following the opener, towards the end of the first half and throughout the second half Lazio dropped deeper to soak up the pressure. In that time, the Brighton man failed to really contribute going forward in that crucial moment too, when his delivery or his runs could have been a weapon.

He misplaced lots of passes and lost possession on multiple occasions, as if the bad marking/judgement for the goal weren’t enough. He was eventually subbed off for Bartesaghi, which could once again flip the hierarchy, as temporary as it might have been.

2. Can’t do it alone

Luka Modric seemed like the most determined player to turn the game around, despite all of the minutes he has racked up at the age of 40. His performance wasn’t spectacular by any means but he did try to make things happen and was the pivot in possession as always, spraying it wide and watching aimless cross after aimless cross go in.

Unfortunately for him, with Adrien Rabiot suspended, his efforts alone were simple not enough as Youssouf Fofana and Ardon Jashari were busy but not as effective. What Rabiot does in both phases is evident, and Milan’s record when he is not available is a real worry.

This game yet again highlights the lack of quality in that midfield, even if the numbers are there in term of depth. Jashari in particular had a timid performance, and if at the beginning of the year that could’ve been excused by his lack of fitness then, he has few excuses left now.

It will be interesting to see if Modric renews his contract for a further year, but regardless of that Milan must need to shuffle the deck in the summer and bring a Rabiot-esque quality player or even two if they want to raise the bar.

3. Firing blanks

Allegri once again put his faith in Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao, hoping that they would magically click. Once again, the duo operated largely on the fringes, and when they were noticed it wasn’t for good things.

Starting with Leao, it’s fair to say that he was a ghost for the majority of his time on the pitch as he barely touched the ball and when he did he failed to make anything out of the situation.

He also had an incident with Allegri when he was subbed off, which we won’t get into too much because really he seemed more frustrated by his own performance and to an extent by Pulisic choosing not to put him through with two passes.

That brings us to the American. Yes, Leao was poor, but to be fair to him Allegri’s instructions were most likely for him to stay up front, lead the line and make runs in behind. That’s precisely one of the reasons he got frustrated: there was no service from who he might expect, his strike partner.

Just before the incident with Allegri, Pulisic failed on two occasions to provide the incisive ball for the Portuguese to break through Lazio’s solid defensive line. So, Leao isn’t getting the service, and Pulisic can’t really play as a playmaker as he’s proven to play better off alongside physical player like Niclas Füllkrug or even Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

To make matters worse, Pulisic is no longer producing those moments of magic that can light up any night. He remains without a goal contribution in 2026, though Motta’s save to deny him in the second half was probably as close as Milan got on the night. It was a disastrous outing for the duo, and there are headaches for the future.

4. A negative return

Alexis Saelemaekers has been in a strange form as of late, with no hint of the player he was in the first half of the season. He lost the battle with Nuno Tavares miserably as he both had trouble defending against the Portuguese and then he also struggled to create chances going forward.

On that note it’s fair to say that Zachary Athakame was a breath of fresh air down that flank. He actually kept up with Tavares with his speed and physicality, while providing energy going forward, even scoring a goal that was unfortunately disallowed due to hand ball.

Given how much Saelemaekers has struggled as of late, it might be time for Allegri to shuffle the starting XI a bit and give Athekame a chance. It’s understandable that the former Anderlecht man might need a break, given he started 20+ consecutive games to begin the season.

The Belgian also seems to have difficulties in those games where emotions prevail, like he return to face Roma, and playing their city rivals last night meaning he was jeered extensively.

5. The coaching battle

There aren’t many arguments about the starting XI, with Rabiot being suspended. Even if we take out Estupiñán’s bad sequence on Lazio’s goal out of the way, Milan were just outplayed by Lazio on the night, and were beaten by their own game.

Maurizio Sarri’s players came out with lots of intensity and energy as if they were the team trying to chase Inter at the top and apply pressure. Allegri’s players needed 40 minutes to start looking like they had finally warmed to the occasion, scoring and then demonstrating a defensive masterclass.

In that regard, with Lazio having clearly settled into shape, Allegri took to long to react. He watched the full first half and saw the duo of Pulisic and Leao struggling. He also saw Jashari, Estupiñán and Saelemakers making mistake after mistake but reacted too slowly.

The decision to sub off Leao instead of Pulisic might have seemed right given the game the former Lille man was having. Yet, we’ve seen on a few occasions now that the introduction of a proper striker and Rafa shifting to the left can unlock things a bit more.

You can’t necessarily blame Allegri given his squad is quite limited and the individual brain farts are not on him, but given that his side has struggled with these low blocks since the start of the season you would expect a solution by now, especially against a makeshift defensive line.