Pulisic’s injury poses a significant problem for Allegri: in this difficult situation he will give up Santi, while the Frenchman appears to be a slight favorite over Rafa. Evaluations in progress
First Saelemaekers, who is a winger by profession and not a striker, but who can also advance if necessary or, perhaps, be instrumental in a change of system. Then Pulisic, who quite simply at the moment is Milan’s top scorer of the season and of the championship (with Orsolini). Here, they fell one after the other with their national teams. First the Belgian and then the US captain. Muscle problems for both, and if Alexis’ absence takes away the balance of Allegri’s tactical framework, Christian’s deprives Milan of the unpredictability on which the team has built a good part of its successes in the first two months of the season. In short, the Rossoneri attack suffers a serious blow. How can Allegri fix it?
defections
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Let’s say that if Max wanted to indulge in some reasoning based on the tiredness of those returning from intercontinental commitments, it would be better for him to postpone his reflections. With a squad made up of 19 outfield players, a couple of defections are obviously enough – especially if they concern first-tier men – to immediately shorten the gap. And therefore it is reasonable to think that Gimenez, even if he will be among the last to return, will start from the beginning. In reality, the Mexican is the only established center forward and up until now, even if he hasn’t scored yet in the league, he has been equally valuable for how he plays the role. So far the starting pair of forwards has been made up of him and Pulisic. Santi, therefore, should start from the beginning and at this point the big question is the teammate who will support him. Net of extreme solutions (Loftus-Cheek), although already tested, a Nkunku and Leao shirt is in play.
work plan
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What they have in common is the lack of ninety minutes in the legs (but we are now starting to be at a good point), but they come from different situations. Nkunku simply has to fine-tune his muscles and lungs, Leao has to fix his athletic appearance after the forty days out due to the calf injury. It’s a different path. The international break was also different: the Frenchman played 11 minutes with Azerbaijan and 74 with Iceland, also scoring a magnificent goal. Between the goal and Deschamps’ return to the squad, one thing is certain: the biorhythm shot up. Rafa was given 29 minutes for Ireland and then sent home before the second match against Hungary. A work plan agreed with Milan, so as not to put the calf at risk again. The Portuguese therefore resumed training at Milanello on Monday, an optimal situation for regaining shape and regaining muscle elasticity. Both are therefore potentially usable from the beginning, without prejudice to the obviousness of a relay in progress. Allegri will evaluate in these days, the feeling is that Nkunku starts as a slight favourite. Also because only five days will pass after Fiorentina and Milan will be back on the pitch on Friday evening against Pisa: there will be room for everyone.
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