Last Sunday Milan celebrated a win with an old-school flavor, against Napoli, the reigning champions of Italy, in front of a packed crowd with the Curva Sud back in its place, with plays from big stars that thrilled the fans and with more than half an hour of resistance while down to ten men. On the eve it was billed as a maturity test and in the end, given how the match unfolded, it turned into a tough exam for Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan, but they cleared the hurdle with composure. There is no time to rest though, because a week later, unlike a high school final exam, a second test of maturity awaits.
Second test of maturity
If the first exam with Napoli was long like a written essay, this second one carries the same school logic: it comes after, so mind and legs are freer, but above all it is the subject-specific exam, more targeted. Dropping the metaphor, Milan face an even harder challenge, away on one of the most hostile grounds in Italy, against a Juventus side coming from four straight draws and eager to win, a team that has already beaten Inter and now sit only one point behind the top three. A difficult game, made even more intriguing by two significant returns: Adrien Rabiot’s, and above all Allegri’s, who faces his former club for the first time in 12 years. Many unknowns to solve in this big match.
Allegri wants consistency
Milan arrive from five straight wins across league and Coppa Italia, conceding only one goal, against Napoli. The table looks good, morale is high and form seems strong. For this reason, focus must be even sharper, and Allegri will not fail to stress it in tomorrow’s press conference, as he has no doubt already told his players in recent days. A strong performance would not only build on the positive mood of this Milan after the Cremonese defeat but also ensure the right approach heading into the international break. That matters especially with the schedule after the return: Fiorentina and Pisa at home, Atalanta away, Roma at San Siro and Parma away. A positive result now would mean confidence and belief going into November, a month when the first real tests often appear.
Source: Milannews.it.
