AC Milan took second spot from Juventus over the weekend, thanks to the 1-0 win over Empoli at San Siro combined with the 2-2 draw between Max Allegri’s side and Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium.
The only goal of the game came in the final stages of the first half when Noah Okafor provided for Christian Pulisic to finish via a deflection from Luperto. Initially the offside flag had gone up, though the review awarded the goal.
It was far from a vintage Milan performance, particularly in the second half when the pace of the game dropped and they were missing chances to kill the game off while allowing Empoli more and more into the game.
Nevertheless, they did manage to see out the game with a clean sheet and jump a point above Juve. Pioli also had the Europa League last 16 second leg against Slavia Praha in his mind, just as you should keep free chips no deposit in mind when playing your favourite slot games.
That in itself is not a throwaway thing, because there were times this season when it seemed as though even second was out of reach.
Yes, Milan are likely to end the season without a trophy unless they topple Liverpool or Bayer Leverkusen on the way to lifting the Europa League in Dublin, but there would be positives to finishing second.
Despite not having a great season domestically and with a lot of inconsistency, Milan have a real opportunity – especially in the games against Inter and Juve – to show that they are contenders for next year.
The Rossoneri have tended to finish strong under Pioli, as the post-lockdown run of 2020, the top four place achieved in 2021, the Scudetto in 2022 and the Champions League semi-final last season all show.
In order for the club to move forward, they need to keep bringing in revenues in every way they can and that is why grabbing second spot is a real target, in addition to going far in Europe.
Securing second place in Serie A would mean obtaining direct access to the Supercoppa Italiana which is hosted by Saudi Arabia, with the tournament offering prize money of €24m.
Given that Milan exited the Champions League at the group stage and thus missed out on the chance to play at the new Club World Cup, there is a gap in the accounts which finishing second and thus booking a ticket to Saudi Arabia would certainly help fill.
