AC Milan are back in action 10 days since they last played in Serie A and won, and will be hoping for a good Friday night by the Leaning Tower.
In their sixth and final away game in the past 42 days, La Gazzetta dello Sport (below) reported this morning that manager Massimiliano Allegri liked the way the game played and will choose to make minimal changes from the 3-0 win over Bologna.
The attacking duo of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christopher Nkunku therefore remains, with the latter determined to cement his place as the Rossoneri’s top scorers since Christmas. The former Chelsea player currently has five goals in Serie A. fired after a difficult start.
Now that the adjustment process is complete and he is back to 100% fitness, the Frenchman will start his third consecutive game and will aim to improve on his record of five goals in the last six games.
He was the best player at Bologna, along with Adrien Rabiot. He was part of the build-up to make it 1-0 and scored the penalty that doubled the lead. As the main character, it is inevitable that I will dream of a night like this again. He came to Milan with this purpose.
To Nkunku
Nkunku joined from Chelsea at the end of August for 37 million euros plus bonuses and has signed a contract until 2030. The Rossoneri selected him when they decided they wanted a technical striker rather than a traditional center forward with size and height.
The former Leipzig star’s first few months have not been easy due to poor health and an injury sustained while playing for the national team, but Diavolo now understands his value and trusts him in his pursuit of the Champions League and Inter.
The No. 18, who is hoping for a strong end to the season to convince Deschamps to take him to the World Cup, has no plans to quit anytime soon. This is a revenge mission of sorts, because with the Blues not everything went the way he wanted.
Nkunku can play in any position, including centre-forward, but at Bologna he was at his best when spaced out alongside teammates like Loftus-Cheek. In yesterday’s training session, the two were tested together again, but Rafael Leao replaced them both in the closing stages.
The same midfield was also tried out, with Zachary Atekame and Davide Bartesaghi on the wings, and Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot in the centre. The only change from the last game was Fikayo Tomori. Instead of Coni de Winterpartners Matt Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlović.
Allegri is 58 years old and will be playing his 530th game as Serie A manager for Pisa. The next three games will be a trio with managers under the age of 40: Hiljemark (33 years old), Fabregas (38 years old) and Cuesta (30 years old).
The team has been in training camp in Tirrenia since yesterday evening and was enthusiastically welcomed by the locals, especially Leo and Modric. It’s not the catwalk tonight, and Max knows that.