AC Milan are on course to achieve their minimum objective for the first season under Massimiliano Allegri: a top four finish.
With an eight-point cushion over fifth place and five games to go, it would take a serious collapse to not get into the Champions League from here. It can never be fully ruled out, though it seems safe to start talking about next season and the ‘next steps’.
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Minimum achieved, what next?
If top four was the only realistic aim for 2025-26, what about the seasons that follow? Massimiliano Allegri has been criticised for his style of play, while others believe he is getting the most out of a limited squad.
Presuming he gets the reinforcements that he asks for in the summer window, it is reasonable to expect the goals to shift accordingly. The quest for Champions League qualification must become the legitimate aim to lift trophies, especially given how the gap in silverware has been eroded by Inter.
Below is a clip from the latest podcast episode, in which Oli and Ben spoke about the aspirations for 2026-27 and beyond, including the aesthetics and formations.
While corto muso football is painful, Allegri is right that a defense-first approach – with a goal of surrendering the least amount of goals – is a safe top 4 strategy in Serie A. Everyone bunkers in, not a lot of goals are scored.
We are missing more of what I would characterize as ‘playmakers’ – those who can either run into space with incisive off the ball runs, beat defenders with the ball 1v1, and/or receive the ball with their back to the goal (holding strikers) and link up with teammates. Rabiot and Pulisic have this ability. Modric as well but he’s playing too deep – he’s wasted there. Leao seems to have lost it with his injury (and doesn’t fit the defense-first mindset). I haven’t seen enough of Jashari and Ricci, both #6 types, to know if they’re a good fit for what we need.
It does seem clear that spending $20m-25m a player to get mediocre offensive talent is not a solution. Champions League money can help land a Goretzka.