Massimiliano Allegri Is Ready To Unleash His Fearsome Attack Against Genoa As The Title Race Heats Up

Italian Serie A giants, AC Milan started the new year with a win, a 1-0 away victory over Cagliari and with another match coming up, the idea is to keep the winning streak alive if they hope to remain active in the Scudetto race this season alongside Inr Inter Milan and Napoli.

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In that game, it was a goal from Rafael Leao that separated the two teams and ahead of their next game, a home fixture against Genoa, their manager, Massimiliano Allegri is ready to put his trust in the Portuguese star again, pairing him with Christian Pulisic which will be their second start together in a Serie A match this season.

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The former Juventus coach made the revelation while speaking to the press in the customary pre-match interview. “Let’s see. They’ve played about 20 minutes together. If everything goes well today and tomorrow morning, they should start,” the Rossoneri boss confirmed at the press conference.

“They’re not at peak condition. Pulisic has a hamstring problem that is still bothering him from time to time, but everyone has to play a good team game. These months are important to reach March calmly and patiently, in the best possible condition.” He continued.

“We work every day on the quality of our play to improve passing quality and speed. We’re also trying to keep improving defensively. We want to improve on both phases, with and without the ball.” The duo have only started once together this season, in a 1-0 win over Inter on November 23.

Leao featured in Milan’s starting XI in the previous match against Cagliari, scoring the winning goal. “Leao has to think about scoring goals. Forwards are judged on that. He has to score. He did score in Cagliari even if he wasn’t fully fit; this discomfort has been bothering him.”

“He can only improve, given that in the first part of the season, he missed quite a few matches due to calf and adductor problems. The same goes for Nkunku, who won’t be available tomorrow. We hope to have him back in Florence, as the knock on his ankle is still bothering him.”

The Rossoneri have already signed a new striker, Niclas Fullkrug, who made his Serie A debut in the previous round and should probably feature in this match too. “He’s improving his shape. In Cagliari, he made himself available and showed characteristics we don’t have. He made a good impression,” Allegri said.

“Hopefully, he’ll also get the chance to score as we need goals. I don’t expect anything from the market. I have a club that takes care of Milan’s future, and Furlani and Tare are working, so I’m very calm.” Allegri also commented on Luka Modric and Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s performances so far.

“Modric is not a technical surprise; what stands out is the passion he has for his work and, above all, the humility with which he shows up at training,” said the Milan coach. It makes me laugh that when he misplaces a pass, he gets angry with himself and apologises. He is a great example for the younger players.”

“I’m very happy with what Ruben is doing. Yesterday, he trained separately, but tomorrow he’ll be available. He has to switch and be more decisive in the box. He has great potential and must be more decisive in the air as well, but I’m very happy with him.” He further added.

Meanwhile, Allegri also had a few words to say on the ongoing Scudetto race as his Milan sit second in the Serie A table, just one point below leaders Inter and they also have a one-point lead over third-placed Napoli, but Allegri reiterates that Nerazzurri and Partenopei are the title favourites this season.

A reporter jokingly asked the Italian tactician today to label who among himself, Cristian Chivu and Antonio Conte was the bad, the good and the ugly, and Allegri replied smiling: “I don’t know, I can only say that right now, I’m on the side of the one watching the duel.” He said.

Napoli will host strugglers Verona later today, while Inter will visit Parma, but Nerazzurri and Partenopei will meet at San Siro on Sunday in a title showdown. nter and Napoli have lost four Serie A games each, while Milan have only lost once and are unbeaten in the last 16 league rounds.

On the other hand, the current league leaders haven’t even drawn any game this season with 13 wins and four losses. “Statistically, it looks like an anomaly, but over a season, numbers balance out. don’t think a team can finish without draws, but it can happen.” He noted.

“I think the title will end around 86-88 points, but it also depends on how the head-to-head matches go.” Milan have scored with their first shot on target in 12 Serie A games this season, yet part of the media are criticising Allegri for his defensive playing style.

“Criticism is always good if it’s done the right way. It stimulates you. No one holds the absolute truth, certainly not me,” Allegri replied. “The strength of this group is that every day they come to training with the desire to improve. We conceded 10 goals against Pisa, Cremonese, Sassuolo, Torino and Parma.”

“There was a period where we dropped in concentration; hopefully, tomorrow we can show continuity.” He concluded. Meanwhile, according to multiple sources in Italy, the Diavolo are close to reaching an agreement to extend Mike Maignan’s contract and Allegri was asked a comment on the matter:

“The club is working on Milan’s future. There are many excellent players, and the club is working to build an important future. It’s also important that we finish in the top four,” the coach said and that report has been corroborated by Sky Sport Italia, despite interest from Chelsea and Manchester United.

The goalkeeper’s current deal only runs to June 30, so within days he would be able to begin negotiations with other clubs to join as a free agent for next season but the talks resumed between his agent and Rossoneri chiefs, with significant progress already over the last few days.

According to Italian transfer expert, Gianluca Di Marzio, Maignan is on the verge of signing a new contract to June 2031 and it would be worth approximately €5.7m per season net, so the same wages that are currently earned by Rafael Leao with the club so far.

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This is well below the salary that would’ve been proposed by EPL clubs but he’s staying due to club loyalty. The 30-year-old France international joined Milan from LOSC for €16.4m in the summer of 2021, as a replacement when Gianluigi Donnarumma left as a free agent for Paris Saint-Germain.

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