Allegri’s mood at noon yesterday, before the press conference at Milanello, was good. "What is going on? It is packed here. Do not make me talk until three because I have to eat." While waiting to see if tonight after the final whistle he shows up with a smile or a tense face, Max spent a relaxed derby eve. He has lived many days like yesterday and his main goal in front of reporters was to avoid comments that distract the team or the Milan environment.
The coach from Livorno knows well that if he loses the derby, Milan drop to minus five from their rivals, but he preferred not to think about this and pushed all assessments to the March break for the World Cup playoffs. "The derby is not a crossroads for the season" he said "because in this stretch that takes us to March we need to collect as many points as possible to reach the best condition. We will have twenty matches or twenty two if we advance in the Coppa Italia and reach the Supercoppa final, and we will face them after working at full pace every week." The target stays the next Champions League "which is Milan’s natural habitat having won the trophy seven times."
The talk about the league title is different. “Inter and Napoli are the favourites. We face an experienced team with players strong in technique and strength. They shoot on target more than anyone and allow fewer attempts than anyone. Lautaro is one of the strongest forwards around, not only in Italy but in Europe and in the world. We need to watch him carefully and also Thuram, Bonny and Esposito. Inter have fought for the title for five years and they are in top form. We need to play the right match.” He said this in line with what has happened so far against every strong opponent, from Napoli to Roma and Juventus. "There are seasons when you excel in direct clashes and struggle with the others or the opposite. The points we have match our performances and now we focus on the derby which will be a wonderful evening because these two teams have a historic rivalry. We need more focus and more fight than in Parma," as pointed out by those at La Gazzetta dello Sport in this morning's print edition.
Allegri's Milan aim for a good week after the derby:
Allegri won his first Milan derby in 2010 then lost the last four. So he knows the feelings in victory and in defeat. "We want a good week and only a win changes your mood for the following days. We have not scored from a corner yet? True, and we have taken seventy one. Maybe in the derby we take two and score. Football is also this." Then he praised his players. "Fofana is a midfielder with huge potential in both phases and he needs more focus in some situations. I found Rabiot much improved compared to when I had him because he is at the peak of his maturity. Pavlovic is growing and he always had the instinct to step forward. Leao is understanding that forwards are judged by goals and this shows growth."
He closed with words on Marotta, with whom he won a lot at Juventus. "We enjoyed great results in Turin with president Marotta and he is doing strong work at Inter." Tonight he hopes to see him disappointed. "We are ready for a match like this. It is normal for Inter to want three points to stay first but we want them too. We need to continue the positive run that started after the first round." Max believes in this and so do Milan.
