Allegri plays down Pulisic-Leao controversy, but Milan ‘need to wake up’
Massimiliano Allegri urges Milan to ‘wake up’ after a 1-0 loss against Lazio and reveals Santiago Gimenez will be available for selection for Saturday’s match against Torino.
Milan host Torino at San Siro tomorrow, and the Rossoneri will be looking to bounce back after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Lazio last week.
Milan vs. Torino – Allegri’s pre-match press conference
“These things happen during a season where points count,” Allegri said at a press conference via SempreMilan.
“The only thing we can do is stay calm. We have an important match tomorrow before the break. It’s difficult because Torino has been getting good results since D’Aversa arrived. Let’s forget about what happened; we need to focus on tomorrow. Gimenez is fine; he’ll be called up tomorrow.”
Mexico international Gimenez underwent ankle surgery in December and has not made a competitive appearance for Milan since the end of October 2025.
The 24-year-old has only scored one goal in 11 appearances across all competitions this season, but none in Serie A.
Allegri was asked whether the title race is already over, as the Rossoneri sit second, eight points behind leaders Inter.
“Football is wonderful for this reason. Everyone thought Inter had dropped two points, but instead… They have their destiny in their hands for the Scudetto; we have it for the Champions League,” the Milan coach replied.
“We have to focus on one game at a time. Then, when the math says that Inter has won the Scudetto and that Milan is in the Champions League, then we won’t be able to win the Scudetto and we won’t be able to exit the Champions League.”
Multiple sources have reported that Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic argued before and after the latest match against Lazio, with the Portuguese complaining about a lack of passes from his teammate.
“As for the Leao-Pulisic duo, they’ve had a season with injuries. One missed pre-season, the other had a good pre-season, and then was out for two months. Now it’s important to do well in the last two months,” Allegri said.
“Pulisic is doing well; in terms of physical condition, he put in a good performance in Rome. He lacks accuracy in his shots, but he’ll find it again. Rafa has nine goals; he still has some games to go, and he can reach double figures.
“But now we have everyone available; to play, we need to wake up. Everyone.
“Whoever has the ball has to see who’s unmarked. He didn’t pass that ball to him because he didn’t see it. But it’s happened other times, too,” Allegri continued.
“The difference in football is the choice of the final pass. With Leao I said: ‘He didn’t see you, otherwise he would have passed it to you.’ It didn’t take much.”
Aside from Gimenez, Niclas Fullkrug is the other Milan centre-forward available for Milan against Torino.
“There are post-match solutions when needed. Gimenez hasn’t been available so far and hasn’t got match rhythm. In fact, during the break, we’ll see if we can organise one. If you need someone with those characteristics with 20 minutes to go, you only have one,” Allegri said.
“So you either have to play him from the start or until the end. Everyone’s fine, everyone’s needed. From now until the end, having five forwards available is very important.
“Leao can easily play as a centre-forward, just look at his moves on Sunday against Inter and Cremona with those deep attacks,” continued the Milan coach.
“When he opens up, he feels a little more comfortable, but when he goes wide, if he doesn’t get the ball, he loses his grip on the game a bit…
“We need to improve the understanding between the players. Pulisic and Leao haven’t played together much in those positions, but so have the others. However, there have been some excellent combinations, like Fullkrug and Pulisic in Florence.
“On Sunday, however, Pulisic didn’t show any signs of being there; that can happen in football.”
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