AC Milan’s attack fired a blank against Lazio on Sunday night in arguably the biggest game of the season so far, and it is an issue to address.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, if Milan want to win the Scudetto, they can’t score 21 goals less than Inter, yet they have 44 to the 65 of their city rivals. They can’t have the fifth-best attack in the league and dream of being the champions.
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At the end of Lazio-Milan, one thought remains clear: Milan attacked for a long time but were almost never dangerous and always gave the impression that the would only score through an individual moment or a bit of luck.
It extends to the season in general: Milan sometimes create on the counter, sometimes with a play by Adrien Rabiot, another time with a set-piece. There’s no discernible trend, and no situation where Milan are consistently dangerous.
A problematic duo
Rafael Leao was irritated when he came off because Christian Pulisic hadn’t attempted to find his run in behind, which is understandable. Leao, however, played another poor match: he was practically never dangerous, and once again displayed negative body language.
In 2025, he and Pulisic practically never played together. In 2026, when they were seen more often on the pitch, they almost never scored: zero goals for Pulisic, while Leao scored against Cagliari (Pulisic wasn’t there), Genoa, Como (Pulisic hadn’t yet come on), and Cremonese (Pulisic had come off).
They only scored one goal while on the field together, and Allegri was asked about it: “When you lose games, in hindsight you see many things. I think Pulisic is improving his fitness, while Leao had two or three opportunities where he would have found himself in front of the goalkeeper. The problem is that in the first half we were frenetic and they won all the physical duels.”
Leao, more than anyone, is a topic of discussion. The key is attitude, not performance. Igli Tare, when he witnessed the tense scene at the substitution, was in the camera’s viewfinder. Lip-reading leads to this phrase: “Look at this, how does he do it?”
It’s fair for Tare to explain, if he wants, but the impression is he was referring to Leao’s behavior, who was slow (in walking off) and argumentative. In his first season as a striker since arriving in Italy, Rafa scored nine league goals – including penalties – and one in the Coppa Italia.
He’s often been hampered by injuries and continues to appear limited by the pubalgia that has plagued him for some time. Leao certainly no longer has the drive he once had and seems to have lost the sacred fire of his good moments.
The others and the future
Niclas Füllkrug and Christopher Nkunku also deserve a word, having come on and done very little. The German, in particular, was invisible, never found in the centre of the penalty area. In a game where Milan needed to find at least one goal, that’s not a good sign.
Nkunku offered a few more answers, but those four forwards remain a puzzle. Will Milan keep playing a two-man attack with Leao and Pulisic? They don’t work well together, at least based on the albeit limited evidence so far.
Could they try a different pairing? It hasn’t happened since February 18th, with Leao and Nkunku in Como. Does a three-man attack make sense? For many, yes, but not for Allegri, who only uses it during the game in the name of maintaining balance.
He hasn’t tried it from the start, even against smaller teams, and many times, in close games, he’s used it late, not at the start of the second half. The transfer market will start here, and it will start now. Could Moise Kean be the solution? Allegri would smile, he likes him.
Nicolas Jackson is another name that has been mentioned, but he too is not a natural striker, in the target man sense. Other names will emerged in the spring and summer, that’s for sure.
“Rafael Leao was irritated when he came off because Christian Pulisic hadn’t attempted to find his run in behind, which is understandable. ”
And how about when Pulisic made the runs but Leao didn’t attempt to pass? That happened too. Double-standards or just the fact that one player acts like a 5-year-old afterwards and the other doesn’t?
Players miss passes all the time. In fact the presenters in the states commented during the game that Pulisic was getting frustrated when he did receive the ball when he was open. Look, I think the real frustration should be at Allegri who is playing these two in a manner that does suit their skill set. But Leao being Leao responds in an immature manner and now has caused a problem for the team moving forward. Allegri needs to bench one of the them to play a #9 and this will cause issues.
did not receive the ball….
“Nicolas Jackson is another name that has been mentioned, but he too is not a natural striker, in the target man sense.”
So it has been decided then: N.Jackson it is. 🤦♂️
With Vlahovic making a u turn there might be a chance for Milan to look at Kolo from PSG. Also Guirassy from Dortmund might be an option. These other names just do not inspire confidence especially if we want to move the dial within the striker department..
If the team is sticking with a 3-5-2, then Leao has to be a super-sub. Put a striker up with a healthy Pulisic and the goals will follow.
All 4 of them are cheeks
Sell both clowns….🦧🐷
Allegri will either manage to reach top four or not.
There is no middle.
We all know that Americans will sell more best players just to avoid financial loss in statement.
And yeah they will dump Allegri.
So again everything is on Allegri in last 9 matches.
5 wins secure his positions. Less than that is risky.
The team has the same issue now as it did in the beginning of the season.
1. This team is still poorly assembled with massive gaps.
2. Our attack is limited and can not create against teams unless we’re on a counter.
3. We struggle against the low block.
4. Without Rabiot and/or Modric the team is visibly weaker
Which all point to the #1 problem above. Allegri knew it from the start but even with this team he can still deliver Top4. No one with common sense was counting on the Scudetto with this team.
Three Coaches before Allegi and Pulisic were firing on all cylinders, why? Because he played in positions he was comfortable in. He’s been on the Left, on the Right, even in the middle. So with all these options, why is he being used in the one position he has never shown to be good in. Similar for Leao. A 3-4-3 would fix the forward problem while still leaving a back three.