“We’re halfway to the target that we set ourselves” : Allegri reluctant to look beyond ‘top four’ finish after narrow victory over Leece
AC Milan maintained their second spot in the Serie A table after securing a narrow 1-0 victory over Leece on Sunday evening. Niclas Fullkrug came off the bench as a substitute to secure all three points for his side.
This was a crucial victory for AC Milan who have dropped several points against smaller clubs this season. While, AC Milan are unbeaten since the opening day of the season, they have dropped some crucial points against teams like Genoa and Fiorentina.
Despite being only three points off Inter Milan, Max Allegri has refused to consider them as title contenders. He stated that their original goal this season was to secure a top four finish, and then think about winning the championship.
“We’re halfway to the target that we set ourselves. When we are mathematically in the top four, then I can look beyond that, but as of today the quota for a Champions League place is 74 points, while with Inter’s form it is going up to 86-88. That’s just mathematics, where teams are now, if you think they’ll average two points per game, that is where they will end up,” Allegri stated.
Max Allegri praises Fullkrug’s impact from the bench
Max Allegri praised the former West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug’s impact from the bench. AC Milan have seen six goals coming from substitutes this season, the most in the Serie A yet.
“The most important thing is that with five changes available in modern football, substitutions become decisive. At certain moments of the match, a player like Fullkrug brings freshness into the box,” Allegri told DAZN Italia.
Max Allegri also noted that Leece have been a very disciplined team for almost three-quarters of the game, however, they often lose out on steam in the final 15 minutes, where they have a tendency to concede a lot of late goals. Hence, Allegri stated that it was important to introduce someone like Niclas Fullkrug who could bring an instant impact.
“Lecce were backing off us and we needed more half-moon runs to avoid their offside trap, instead we kept getting caught up in it, as we were hasty. Lecce worked really hard in the first half and inevitably lost intensity after the break, so we ratcheted up a gear in both our pace and the speed with which we moved the ball.
“I looked at the statistics, Lecce conceded almost half the total goals this season in the final 15 minutes. That means they are good at working hard, keeping the game open, but then they run out of steam.”
