Devil’s Advocate: Why Allegri is Milan’s biggest asset and what must happen this summer

AC Milan prevailed in yet another big game on Sunday night, snatching the derby bragging rights for the second time this season.

Going into the game, the narrative was about whether Inter – who had won 14 of their previous 15 Serie A games – could close out the Scudetto battle once and for all. After all, the 10-point gap demonstrated a clear gap in quality, and they could have delivered the knockout blow.

Yet, after 90 minutes plus injury time, as Massimiliano Allegri ran off to the dressing room once again, it was the red side of the city that were celebrating. The message from the campaign so far was repeated and reinforced: with Allegri at the helm, Milan go into every game with a chance.

Now, fans and pundits (perhaps rightly) pedal the notion that in a derby anything can happen, that form goes out of the window. This was far from a fluke or a stroke of luck, though, as ‘Mad Max’ delivered yet another masterclass, schooling Cristian Chivu who remains a rookie by comparison.

Weaving that into the tapestry of a season that has so far seen improvement virtually across the board, it is very clear that a huge summer awaits regardless of how the title race ends. Milan, for the first time since the early Stefano Pioli era, have something and someone to really invest in.

One year after disaster

Let’s rewind 12 months, which in football can be both a tiny and an enormous amount of time to be able to judge progress or regression, especially by Milan’s occasionally chaotic standards.

The Rossoneri – after 28 games of the 2024-25 season – sat on 44 points from their 28 games. They had won 12, drawn eight and lost eight, with 42 goals scored and 32 goals allowed.

That doesn’t really paint the full picture though, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Sergio Conceicao’s side were eight points off the top four, and resignation had just begun to set in. Secondly, the season would end with 63 points, 11 (eleven!) defeats in the league, 43 goals conceded, and no climb from eighth spot.

The present moment paints a much rosier picture. Milan are second in the table, have won 17 of 28 games with nine draws and just two defeats, have scored 44 goals and allowed just 20 (more on this to come) with 60 points on the board.

Not only does that mean that the current side are only three points from last season’s total for the entire season, but a top four spot is also nearly in the bag thanks to the nine-point cushion to fifth.

Detractors will argue that there was a chance for Allegri’s men to really push Inter even harder in the Scudetto race this season, given a lot of the dropped points came against lesser sides. However, the average Milanista would be lying if they say they wouldn’t have signed for second place before a ball was kicked.

The biggest transformation has been across two fronts. The first is the record in big games, which has drastically flipped compared to the last campaign under Paulo Fonseca and Conceicao.

In head-to-head games in 2024-25, Milan took a meagre 11 out of 48 points available, which is an average of just 0.69 points per game.

1. Napoli: average points: 1.88 (30 points out of 48)
2. Atalanta: 1.69 (27 out of 48)
3. Fiorentina: 1.62 (26 out of 48)
4. Bologna: 1.31 (21 out of 48)
5. Inter: 1.31 (21 out of 48)
6. Juventus: 1.19 (19 out of 48)
7. Lazio: 1.12 (18 out of 48)
8. Roma: 1.12 (18 out of 48)
9. Milan: 0.69 (11 out of 48)

Looking at the current season, Milan are the best in Italy by some margin when it comes to winning the games against the teams around them.

The list of results reads as follows: 1-0 win vs. Bologna, 2-1 win vs. Napoli, 0-0 draw vs. Juventus, 2-1 win vs. Fiorentina, 1-1 draw vs. Atalanta, 1-0 win vs. Roma, 0-1 win vs. Inter, 1-0 win vs. Lazio, 1-1 draw vs. Fiorentina, 1-1 draw vs. Roma, 0-3 win vs. Bologna, 1-0 win vs. Inter.

As a consequence of this, the mini league table for the top nine from last season makes for much brighter reading.

1. Milan average points: 2.33 (28 points out of 36)
2. Napoli: 2 (26 out of 39)
3. Atalanta: 1.8 (18 out of 30)
4. Inter: 1.73 (19 out of 33)
5. Juventus: 1.42 (17 out of 36)
6. Roma: 1.09 (12 out of 33)
7. Lazio: 0.7 (7 out of 30)
8. Fiorentina: 0.636 (7 out of 33)
9. Bologna: 0.5 (5 out of 30)

The foundation of this improvement in terms of points accrued and performances in the six-pointer games comes from a new-found resilience and mental strength, two qualities that were non-existent towards the end of Pioli’s time and especially last season.

Admittedly the timing of this piece has fallen brilliantly, but as of Sunday’s derby win, Milan have statistically the best defensive record in the ‘top five’ European leagues. The Rossoneri have conceded 20 goals in 28 league games at an average of 0.71 per match, which nobody can match.

There are various factors at play in this profound defensive improvement which deserve a separate introspection, from the use of the 3-5-2 to the rising importance of Koni De Winter, having an effective midfield shield and a compactness between the departments.

Make no mistake though, this bears Allegri’s hallmark. He repeats time after time that his aim is for his sides to have the best defensive record in the league because that usually equates to success. It may not yield a Scudetto this season, but it has certainly seen results skyrocket.

There have been counter-arguments about a more pragmatic style of play being difficult to watch, or that drawing too many games has held the team back, especially in the unbeaten run. After losing 11 games last season, the priority had to become being harder to score against and harder to beat. Both have been resoundingly achieved.

The man and the memes

If a vote were to be taken regarding fan approval for Allegri, we hazard a guess that over 90% of fans would be happy to stick with the manager going into 2026-27, and that would be the most united that the supporter base has been in some time regarding the man at the helm.

Aside from his excellent work thus far on the coaching side, another reason that Allegri seems to be so well-liked is that he is a fundamentally charismatic person. With decades of experience in Italian football, he knows his way around the house by now, especially after a previous three-and-a-half-year stint at Milan.

Allegri himself understands the importance of being a good communicator and about having that X-factor that sets you apart as a coach. The proof of this came in 2022, with an answer he gave in a press conference for Juventus after being asked about whether he is one of the elite coaches.

“The best, what do you mean? For me, the best are those who win: so Ancelotti – whom I congratulate again – is someone who has made history in Italian football. Capello, Lippi, Sacchi have made history in Italian football. Those are the winning coaches. Then, in Italy, there are many good young coaches who can have the opportunity to coach a great team.

“However, it is different, even if it seems the same, to coach a great team and play to win compared to coaching a medium- small team and not having the responsibility of winning. These are two things that make quite a difference.

“We’re not talking about tactics and technique here. There are many coaches, even those who coach in Serie D or Eccellenza, who are very well-prepared, because in Italy all coaches are well-prepared and are even better at a tactical level.

Ricorda Cesc, ricorda… pic.twitter.com/lcl83pLJ27

— Marco Varini (@mvcalcio) January 21, 2026

“But being a coach isn’t just limited to that stuff, it’s something bigger, much bigger, there are facets that aren’t written anywhere. It’s not written in any book. And so it’s how Mother Nature made you: if you have it, you have it, if you don’t, you don’t.

“But this is true in football, it’s true among journalists, it’s true in all professions. There are categories, like it or not. And those who win are the best, that’s for sure.”

We have seen many examples of Allegri’s clear and commonsensical approach to communication in his second spell with Milan too. He declared the objective in crystalline terms from day one (a Champions League return) and is no stranger to revealing his calculations about what is needed to get there.

In many ways, Allegri’s arrival has seen him function as somewhat of an umbrella. He has not just dealt with questions about transfer business and the management/ownership with clinical expertise, but he has also known the perfect thing to say at the perfect moment to help the squad too.

It helps that he is probably on good terms with a few of those who fill the Milanello press room every week, or perhaps those journalists and reporters have a deep-found respect for Max. Either or both are very beneficial when it comes to rowing against the anti-Milan media tide that has emerged.

From a man-management perspective, the former Juventus boss seems to be getting more from the sum of the parts, given that even the most optimistic believed Milan have the third-best squad in the league behind Napoli and Inter.

The chronology of how Mike Maignan’s renewal was achieved is just one of many tales, while there is a real feeling of togetherness at Milanello. The resurgence of Koni De Winter and contributions from the likes of Zachary Athekame and Pervis Estupinan in recent weeks – the latter being the derby hero – show that everyone is involved.

Then there are, of course, those viral social media moments. From berating players and not watching penalties to running off for the changing rooms before anyone else and tearing off his jacket. There’s nobody quite like ‘Mad Max’, and that is endearing to some degree.

In short, Allegri has been just as much a stabiliser in his role as the main public-facing figure at Milan as he has been as a head coach. Sometimes performances can improve but relationships are quickly strained, and that does not seem to be the case here.

A solid platform

The opposite, in fact, appears true regarding the above: Max seems to be fully invested in making his second stint at Milan a successful one. So how does that happen, presuming a trophy doesn’t come this time?

There have been unfounded rumours about Allegri being unhappy with how things are going at management level. Wide-ranging stories have spoken of infighting between directors and disagreement over transfer targets, leading to the coach considering his future beyond this season.

During the press conference ahead of the Milan derby, Allegri was asked about his future once again due to the aforementioned exit rumours, making his thoughts on things very transparent.

“I’m tied to Milan with a contract until 2027. The future is tomorrow, then the Sunday after that. I’m happy at Milan, I’m very happy,” he said.

“We started a project in July, the club is working towards the future. But until we reach that goal, we have to focus on the present. We haven’t achieved anything yet. Milan must return to playing in the Champions League.”

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So, presuming that Milan do not have a late-season collapse and they get back into the top European club competition, where do things go from here?

From a squad building point of view, the quantity and quality of players has to be improved. Without going into specific targets nor even budgetary matters, it is obvious to anyone with a brain that a squad of 20 outfield players is not enough for an increase in games to potentially well over 50.

Milan seem a bit short on centre-back cover (especially with an injury factored in) so they may look to acquire a versatile/experienced player in that position, just like at wing-back. Midfield movement could see some leave and others arrive, though this is the most adequate department at present numerically.

It feels as though a lot of the indication regarding Milan’s ambitions for 2026-27 and beyond hinge on the attack, and more specifically the acquisition of a top centre-forward. This is where Allegri simply must be consulted, because there can be no disagreement on potentially the most important signing in years.

Above all, Massimiliano Allegri must be listened to on what he believes can take Milan to the next level, having already taken the current ‘streamlined’ team up several floors with elevator-like verticality inside his first few months.

The one signing that the media seem to unanimously agree that Allegri asked for in the summer is Adrien Rabiot, and he has turned out well so far hasn’t he? As the man with the second-most Scudetti of any coach, the 58-year-old understands what creates winning teams and winning cultures, having already set about the latter in quick time.

Is this a guarantee that a run of multiple consecutive titles is to follow? No, and if the Mister gets a sufficient level of investment and most of the players he wants in the summer, expectations will rise when it comes to the Scudetto panorama and other things like style of play.

However, as the sample size grows the feeling deepens: Allegri is the guarantor of competence and expertise within the current Milan structure. The rebuild has begun with him, and now it is on the hierarchy above him to ensure that something truly great can be constructed.