Mansion Sports – Massimiliano Allegri welcomed the positive impact delivered by Niclas Fullkrug for Milan after scoring the winning goal from the bench against Lecce, while reaffirming that his primary focus remains on securing a top-four finish rather than pursuing the Scudetto.

The Rossoneri have dropped many points against lower-table clubs this season, including two recent consecutive draws against Genoa and Fiorentina.

In this match, for a period it appeared that Milan were once again heading toward a stalemate at San Siro due to a series of outstanding saves from Wladimiro Falcone.

However, Niclas Fullkrug, who came on as a substitute, emerged as the breakthrough figure and three minutes later scored the winning goal with a delicate header from an Alexis Saelemaekers cross.

The goal marked the sixth scored by Milan substitutes in Serie A this season, the highest total of any team.

Allegri told DAZN Italia that the most important aspect of modern football with five substitutions available is the decisive role of substitutes.

He assessed that at certain moments in a match, players like Fullkrug are able to bring freshness into the opposition penalty area.

Fullkrug’s Role in Milan’s Attacking Setup

Questions arose as to whether Fullkrug could start alongside Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao, or whether such a decision would risk disrupting the balance Allegri has built within the team.

Allegri explained that Fullkrug did not train much while he was still at West Ham and had also suffered a knock to his leg.

He believes that Milan can deploy various combinations involving Fullkrug, Pulisic, Leao, and Nkunku.

However, he emphasized that the team must improve the accuracy of their final passes, show greater patience in the buildup phase, and be sharper and quicker without being overly rushed in the final third, as occurred in this match.

He also highlighted Lecce’s deeper defensive approach, which meant Milan should have made more curved runs to avoid falling into offside traps.

According to him, Milan were caught too often because they played in a hurried manner. Lecce were judged to have worked very hard in the first half and naturally lost intensity after the break, which Milan then exploited by increasing the tempo of play and the speed of ball circulation.

Allegri added that based on statistics, Lecce have conceded almost half of their total goals this season in the final 15 minutes of matches.

This shows that Lecce are able to work hard and keep matches open, but ultimately run out of energy.

Midfield Rotation and the Importance of Squad Depth

In the match, Ardon Jashari and Samuele Ricci started in midfield, while Luka Modric and Youssouf Fofana were rested, given that it was one of the few weeks in which Milan had to play more than one match.

Allegri assessed that when fixtures are close together, the pressure felt is more mental than physical.

He stated that Jashari performed well through his passing accuracy and work-rate intensity, while Ricci delivered a very solid performance in what he considers to be his natural role as a mezz’ala.

Allegri also emphasized that Milan possess strong team spirit, and when a match is played with 15 players rather than just 11, everything becomes easier for everyone.

Allegri’s Focus on the Champions League Zone

This victory allowed Milan to take advantage of slips by other rivals to consolidate second place in the standings, three points ahead of Napoli, while remaining within three points of league leaders Inter.

However, what pleased Allegri most was Milan’s gap of seven points over Juventus in fifth place.

He continues to stress that Milan’s realistic objective this season is to secure qualification for the Champions League.

Allegri emphasized that his team have achieved half of the target they set. He stated that only after a top-four position is mathematically secured will he look toward higher objectives.

At present, according to him, the threshold for Champions League qualification is 74 points, while based on Inter’s form, the title race could reach a range of 86 to 88 points.

He stressed that these are purely mathematical calculations based on the team’s current position and the assumption of an average of two points per match.

Milan began the season with a home defeat against Cremonese, but since then have remained unbeaten in Serie A with a record of 12 wins and eight draws.

This run of positive results is the longest in the Italian top flight since the era of Fabio Capello between September 1992 and March 1993.