AC Milan are back at the top of Serie A, and it is largely thanks to the impact that the new head coach Massimiliano Allegri has had.
As Corriere dello Sport report, Allegri has restored the united spirit and style of play that had been missing for months. The results are proving the coach right, as he returns to being the sole leader of Serie A since May 2019 , when he won the Scudetto with Juventus.
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Allegri was also first in the 2023-24 season on matchday 21, but in that case, Inter had a game in hand. Today, however, the Rossoneri can enjoy first place alone, at least until the weekend. A win against Pisa on Friday night would ensure they retain it.
Reading and leader
Against Fiorentina, Milan once again demonstrated their excellent game plan. The absences would have disheartened anyone but not Allegri, who knew how to manage the situation perfectly and deployed his strength impeccably.
With his usual irony after the 2-1 victory, he talked about luck in his reading of the match. In reality, Allegri had been preparing for the game this way since the previous Thursday, when he learned he wouldn’t be able to count on other forwards.
So, he left Santiago Gimenez on the bench to have a suitable substitution in the second half and brought on Leao from the start, energising and motivating the Portuguese in the best possible way. The result? A brace for Rafa and a decisive introduction for the Mexican.
It wasn’t just the two forwards; the entire team contributed to the victory against the Tuscans, even with players out of position due to numerous absences or making their first start, like Zachary Athekame.
Furthermore, Allegri had only five outfield players on the bench, including two recruited from Milan Futuro. The Livorno-born coach has instilled a winning mentality in his team, and the facts prove it: Milan are solid and entertaining, but also know to react to adversity.
Indeed, against Fiorentina, they managed to turn the match around with a spirited response to Gosens’ goal. The other message Allegri sent to the dressing room after the victory was that the marathon is still very long.
In essence, he told the team that no one should get too excited: the season has just begun, and everything still needs to be earned and fought for on the pitch. Allegri then urged the players to manage their condition as best they can in preparation for the match against Pisa.
It’s beginning to shape up as a scudetto season, similar to 2021-22, as other clubs are imploding. So glad we didn’t sign 1-time Conte in 2024. Napoli is already falling apart and he’s awful in Europe (6-2 against PSV??? Wow). Juventus is also beginning to fall apart, after a promising start. Roma is solid, but they’re having real issues scoring, so they’re going to drop points that they shouldn’t. Atalanta is predictably drab under Juric, a coach not known for his attacking football. Lazio is already too far behind and too shallow. Fiorentina is in the relegation zone. Bologna is doing well relative to what they have (again), but they’re not strong enough to mount a title challenge. So it’s looking like a rematch for the title against Inter. Advantage Inter for having the best squad in Serie A on paper, and having a squad that has been relatively stable over the last couple of seasons. Chivu is surprising me. But we have no European football, so that’s our strength. Still early days, but this is the feeling I’m getting.
Inter are looking better every time they take the pitch. Their CL run will be the deciding factor as last year they were burnt out at the end of the season.
It’s concerning how Inter can be “THE” Serie A team that is the only true powerhouse.
Agree about Inter and CL football Napoli without Lukaku is toothless. Juve is fair on their best day. Atalanta has not gotten their act together- if they will is the question. Roma could be interesting. Overall, I think Serie A is weaker this year.
The level overall will be lower, at least in the first half of the season. It’s enough to consider that all top teams apart from Napoli changed their coaches. It takes time for things to click. I’m surprised by Inter, I expected some dip in performance. But I don’t think they have the strongest team on paper anymore. They all have to pray Marota will have excellent transfer windows in the next 12 months.
But they DID have a dip. They started the season 1-0-2. Now they’ve figured it out and have reeled off four wins in succession. Not dissimilar to how we started the season. So for me, the evidence is building that this will be a repeat of 2021-22, where it’s us vs Inter for the title, with Napoli, Roma and Juventus (and maybe Bologna and Atalanta) fighting for spots 3 and 4. The question is if our shallow squad will be able to finish the marathon. I bet we sign a couple of players in January (definitely a striker) if we’re still in the thick of it then.
I feel like Inter will be very good until they meet us. We need to beat them.