Allegri never changes… No one in Europe makes fewer substitutions than Milan

There is a Milan that rules in Italy, together with Napoli, but also one that dictates the law in Europe. We’re not talking about great Champions League nights, but about the bench. Milan is the team that has made the fewest changes among the 98 teams in the top 5 European leagues: 47. Behind them are Everton (50), Crystal Palace (51), Lyon (53) and so on. A fact that makes the Rossoneri dominant in Serie A too. The second Italian team with the fewest number of substitutions in the first 14 matchdays is Genoa with 57. The big teams are around sixty: Napoli and Atalanta 64, Juventus 66. But why has Allegri, a coach who historically “splits” matches by turning towards the bench, changed so little? Spoiler: it’s not just about injuries.

INJURIES AND MORE

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In the first 14 days of Serie A Allegri made 47 substitutions, for an average of 3.36 per game. Only against three teams did he use all five substitutions: Bologna, Udinese and Napoli. Even if there are two real cases: against the Emilians Maignan was a forced substitution due to injury. The many physical problems suffered by the players in the first part of the season certainly represent a logical explanation: in some matches Allegri found himself with just five outfield men ready to take over (Pisa, Fiorentina and Atalanta, to name three). Several times, however, Max reiterated how this factor should not become an alibi for the players. Successful communication strategy. In addition to injuries there is also a reliability issue. In Milan some players are not ready and Odogu is the first on the list: zero minutes in Serie A to date. Athekame, despite the equalizer against Pisa, was used sparingly. Nkunku is finding space above all because up front it’s a fight to see who gets hurt first: the last one was Rafa Leao against Torino.

THE MOST CHANGED ROLES

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But let’s get into the purely numerical aspect. Milan is the team that makes substitutions later than anyone else in Serie A: the first substitution arrives on average around the 60th minute, with Napoli slightly below. Out of 47 substitutions, 21 were forwards: almost half. Apart from Torino, where Leao was out due to injury, only on the first day against Cremonese did the two Rossoneri strikers stay on the pitch for the entire match. Of the 26 remaining changes, 15 concerned the midfielders and 10 the defenders, with the addition of the goalkeeper due to injury. As anticipated, the average substitutions per game are 3.36, never so few since Allegri coached in the era of five substitutions. In the three-year period at Juventus (2021-24), Max always made more than four substitutions per game.

SUPER-SUB CLEAN

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But how much impact do the changes really have? Here the answer is easy and has a first and last name: Christian Pulisic. Milan’s strongest and most indispensable player. To say that he is only the top scorer is an understatement: the American manages to make a difference even with flu symptoms. From the bench, Milan scored five times between goals and assists. In the last match in Turin Pulisic scored a double (decisive) and Ricci provided him with the assist for the victory. Both came off the bench. The American had already put the exclamation point on the victory in Lecce at the end of August, while Athekame avoided the home defeat against Pisa on the eighth matchday. Only five Serie A teams have obtained more goals and assists from substitutes than Milan: Cremonese (10), Inter and Bologna (8), Cagliari and Sassuolo (7). Historically Allegri has always been used to long and level benches, making the most of the five substitutions. Today it seems to live a sort of amarcord of the pre-Covid times, when a maximum of three changes could be made and the “slots” meant something else. Today Milan is first with not even three and a half substitutions every 90′. Nostalgic Max is being right.