Massimiliano Allegri is the coach who has used the least substitutions in Serie A so far this season, but he doesn’t see it as a big deal.
The depth of Milan’s squad has been called into question several times in 2025-26 already, with the decision made to go into the campaign with only 19 outfield players following a major summer streamlining mission.
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The Rossoneri do not have European football so they mostly play once per week, but the batch of injuries that came during the October international break shows just how delicate the numerical situation is.
An interesting stat has surfaced: Milan are last in Serie A in terms of number of substitutions made with 42 changes made in 12 games (therefore out of a possible 60). This is an average of 3.5 per game, out of the five permitted.
The total number is 10 behind Parma, who have made 52 changes and are the penultimate side in the rankings. Looking at rivals, the Diavolo are 16 substitutions behind rivals Inter and Napoli, and 17 behind league-leaders Roma.
Allegri is the only coach in the league to have had a game where he used only two substitutions, and in seven matches he has made only three subs. Only five teams have matched that but they have done it in isolation, i.e. in just the one game.
Allegri’s response
Allegri has made five substitutions in just three matches. The notion was put to him in his pre-Lazio press conference that the team are suffering from having a lack of depth and therefore the necessary options to make changes, but he played down the issue.
“[It is] Absolutely not a small squad. We’ve been missing Rabiot, Pulisic, and Estupinan in the last month” he began by saying.
“Sometimes substitutions are needed, but sometimes they’re not needed, or you make them just for the sake of it, and that’s not good. Substitutions should be made when needed; sometimes there aren’t any matches where they’re not needed.
“In the last month, five players have returned from the national team, practically dead. I couldn’t let them play. The squad size is right. The club is working to plan like the Milan of recent years.
“January is a strange transfer window… Bringing in players who aren’t needed… We have players who are growing and who can give us much more in the second half of the season.”
Indication of our depth in key positions.
Not necessarily. If you take Allegri at his word, he only wants to make substitutions when they are needed. When we were chasing the game against Pisa he brought on Athekame and he scored the tying goal. How often are we chasing the game that we need to make offensive subs? How often are we up multiple goals and can make subs just to give players a rest? You really can’t argue with the results.
I agree with him. Putting down a stable starting eleven is usually a good thing thing to create harmony and confidence in the group. When the coach is uncertain and shifts back and forth too much the players become hesitant and afraid of making mistakes. Now we have stability and players are able to get into the fold if they really prove themselves. If they don’t then they know their place as subs and have to really try to improve to be able to get more playing time. That builds healthy competition within the group.