Massimiliano Allegri has changed AC Milan in a short time, but the coach too has also altered his ways slightly too.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Milan’s progress under Allegri is there for all to see with the unbeaten run and the clean sheets being racked up, but also the attacking play. Opponents are becoming intrigued and secretly worried about the Rossoneri’s progress.
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It’s worth making a preliminary point: the RedBird ownership desperately needs results. Last season, the harvest was a Supercoppa Italiana, complete with a social media-friendly dance and a cigar from Sergio Conceiçao. A lot of smoke, little fire.
A season without European football followed, which for a club accustomed to the biggest stage is unacceptable. They needed a so-called ‘results-driven’ manager, so who better than Allegri? So far, it has worked almost perfectly.
Style and substance
Allegri – aided by splendid soloists like Modric, Rabiot, and Pulisic – has assembled a splendid orchestra. He takes advantage of such a wealth of talent and uses it to catch everyone off guard, perhaps even his own management.
The current Milan are an entertaining team, never monotonous, capable of following different scores over the course of 90 minutes. They are two points behind leaders Napoli and Roma, but have a lead over Juventus and Inter of one point.
Add to that the four clean sheets in six games – a feat not seen since 2006-07 – and there is a nice alchemy. These are signs of concreteness and solidity: a good foundation, typical of Allegri’s style. But certain numbers only partially explain why Milan have once again become a machine that puts on a show.
Leaders and champions
Milan have a rate of 88% for successful passes, 55% for successful long balls, and 82% for passes in the opposition’s half are completed, 28% of which are forward and 16% backward. The numbers often seem stark, but in this specific case, they demonstrate the playing style.
Here, Allegri’s influence is evident: let’s face it, who hasn’t been touched by the fear that his post-Juventus sabbatical had made him lose his edge, energy, and capacity for innovation? There’s still a long way to go, but in any case, Max’s resurgence is impressive in both work rate and quality.
The beauty lies in even complaining about a draw at Juventus because more was deserved. Rabiot’s role looks tailor-made, Modric’s contagious enthusiasm is beautiful to see and Pulisic has never been so decisive.
The remaining mission
Allegri is enjoying his second spell at Milan, inventing new solutions since he doesn’t have a pure centre-forward. He insists on Gimenez, more inclined towards combination play than standing in the box like a typical No.9, but for now he’s making do.
The most intriguing situation concerns Leao. So far, Max has been doing well without the Portuguese superstar but he needs him in form. On Sunday, before throwing him into the fray, Max smiled and gave him a nudge: “Rafa, don’t p*** me off…”
Uncorking the number 10 is the Livorno coach’s next challenge, something that will be made easier with minutes in the legs. For now, though, the machine seems to be running pretty well regardless.
Leao is a superstar footballer … for a winger. Will he be able to adapt to CF/ST? I don’t think so. Maybe he’ll prove me wrong, but … . Milan should sell him for as much as possible to a team that needs a talented winger. Chances are he’ll flop and they can bring him back at a discount/loan (like Lukaku at Inter).
Why would you wanna bring him.back?
Lukaku was useless when he came back to Inter
This season may become very useful in potentially transitioning Leao out of the team and cashing out on him.
He is a known commodity at this point with no visible drive to want to improve and get to the next level. Max has this team playing well without the Portuguese so unless there are visible signs of improvement I’d be ok with selling Rafa to the PL and upgrading the rest of the squad.
It seems some of us do not understand football, Leao will be very useful in transition , and with Modric in the middle of the park, he will receive some nice long balls who will suit his style of play…. Yes he did miss some chances in the last game, but we must also see his runs that created these chances his inteligence and runs allowed him chances in those few minutes on the pitch… I also like how Gimenez works his ass off the ball ! We’ve got 4 fowards with different characteristics and this will make our attack unpredictable for sure…. We dont have a focal point for our opponents to stop us!