Massimiliano Allegri said Milan must beat Hellas Verona to protect their lead over fifth place in the Champions League race and respond to the defeat at Udinese. The coach said the team had to turn two away defeats without scoring into a clean, collective reaction at Verona.
"Veniamo da due sconfitte esterne senza gol. Dobbiamo tornare a vincere con una partita di squadra. Sarà importante per l'obiettivo da raggiungere: servono ordine e serenità," Allegri said in the pre-match news conference. He added that the week had been positive, but Milan could not lose their certainties at this stage of the season.
Allegri said he planned to keep faith with the same players used by the “first” Milan, lining them up in a 3-5-2 with Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic as the forward pair. He said Fikayo Tomori and Matteo Gabbia would play in defense, with Youssouf Fofana in midfield, and said the boos for Rafa may have reminded him that moments of difficulty are part of the game.
The match matters now because Milan are trying to preserve their cushion over fifth place while carrying the weight of a run that has exposed their lack of goals away from home. Allegri said order and serenity were essential to reaching the objective, and he repeated that he remained convinced the forwards would start scoring again. He also said the club had been close to the team, that the final part of the season was important, and that the squad had technical and moral values it needed to channel into the target in front of it.
That target, Allegri suggested, reaches beyond Verona. He said reaching the Champions League this season would strengthen the base for what comes next, before the second step of planning the future. He said too many changes were not in his DNA, that he was linked to Milan, and that the next training camp would be on July 12. Asked about the broader direction of the club, he said the market was the club's responsibility, though he offered indications on player characteristics and squad building, and added that some players may want to leave at the end of the season.
Allegri also looked ahead while reflecting on the present, saying finishing in the Champions League would be a good result this year and that next season the ambition should be to improve on this campaign's position. He congratulated Cristian Chivu, saying he had done an excellent job and that winning the league in a coach's first year was a major satisfaction. For Milan, though, the immediate test remains simpler and more unforgiving: turn the talk of structure, serenity and future planning into three points at Verona.
