This match was not going to be easy. Allegri knew that, and anyone paying attention knew that. In addition to the tensions between the two clubs and the fans, the away match to Cagliari has never been easy. And Pisacane has shown that he is a young coach to be watched. While I have seen many fans describe this match as "boring," for me, it was more like watching a chess match between the two managers, both having played and managed for Cagliari. One young, one more experienced. And this was a match that Milan was not necessarily favored to win, either. But for once, Allegri read the game and subbed like a chess master, leading Milan to the 1-0 win over Cagliari. Checkmate.
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| Allegri played this one like a master. |
Milan did not have a single healthy attacker to start this match, and only one of our starting center backs was available at kickoff. One of the hazards of Allegri rarely using all of his subs is injuries. The other is that without rotation, he does not have other players as prepared to step up when there are injuries. Although, to his credit, this time, he got it all to work. Even if the first half was a bit of a nightmare.
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| Focused, experienced, and with an insatiable desire to win. |
First, there was a minute of silence for the horrific tragedy in Crans-Montana in Switzerland the previous day. The match kicked off, and Cagliari literally had three shots in the first three minutes. Luckily, being clinical is not their strength, because Milan could have been in a hole again in just the first five minutes. But after this early blitz, the chess match began. It was a constant battle for possession, a strategic battle of defense, and neither team allowed the other many opportunities to actually attack.
Of the few shots Cagliari managed to get off after that first few minutes, Maignan saved Adopo's in the 32nd and Mazzitelli put his into the side netting. Saelemaekers took a shot in the 38th minute that was just wide. And there was Estupiñan, who often was more of a liability than an asset, fouling Palestra on an off the ball, who was lucky not to be sanctioned. Bartesaghi, on the other hand, was incredible covering for Pavlović, who did not recover from illness in time for the match. He did note that he had played that position for Milan Futuro for people who were surprised.
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| Bartesaghi continues to impress, even in a different role than usual. |
De Winter was also a surprise, after some shaky performances riddled with error, he stood tall and played his best match yet when we were most desperate. The best chance Milan may have had to score was in stoppage time, when Loftus-Cheek was fouled by Juan Rodriguez in the box, and Abisso whistled for a penalty. However, the offside flag was up, as Leão was judged to have been offside in the buildup, so the penalty was not given and the first half ended goalless.
The second half started off with a bang – Rafa Leão banged a shot off the crossbar, but the flag went up because the linesman ruled the ball had gone out of play prior to his shot, so if he had scored, it would not have counted. But it was a signal to Cagliari, though, that Milan's strategy had intensified and they would be ruthless.
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| De Winter was calm, cool, and collected, never putting a step wrong in this one. |
A header from Loftus-Cheek went over, but then Rabiot sent a cross in for Leão, who scored while slipping on the very poor pitch. 1-0 Milan. The first goal of 2026 for Milan and for Serie A. It felt like a good omen. It was Leão's seventh goal of the season, even though he has been struggling with injuries. In fact, it was reported that he was still very physically limited for this match due to swelling in his adductor muscles. Yet he scored with his first shot on target, a phenomenon that has become commonplace for Milan this season. He was awarded the Serie A Player of the Match for what would also be the matchwinner.
Milan's mentality was definitely much improved in the second half, but credit to Cagliari, they never gave up. In fact, I noticed several times that two Milan players would double team players like Palestra, who continued to be problematic. If it wasn't Loftus-Cheek and Estupiñan, it was Bartesaghi and Rabiot. But Cagliari were getting physically tired, as was evidenced when Juan Rodriguez took Loftus-Cheek down in the box again in the 63rd minute. Luckily for Rodriguez, Abisso felt it was not enough contact for a penalty this time.
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| Leão catching his first wave of 2026. |
Even Modrić was not afraid to get his hands dirty, like pulling Kılıçsoy down on top of him. Which looked like a foul to me, but maybe Abisso could not believe it happened that way, so didn't call it. But Modrić was epic throughout the match, which is why Milan fans actually voted him MVP. Leão fouled Luperto, and I think that was Allegri's signal to make some changes. So Füllkrug, a new Milan player of mere hours, made his debut, replacing Leão, and Ricci replaced Fofana. Allegri's chess moves were so calculated, balancing the number of minutes Leão and Fofana had in them, having both recently returned from injuries, and judging how many minutes Füllkrug would have to be productive, while also reading the game well.
There was a slight scare when Kılıçsoy attempted a bicycle kick that went straight into Ricci's arm, but it was not given as a handball. The Cagliari fans were not excited about the call, but credit to Pisacane, he shut down any controversy afterward saying that it was not a spot kick for him, and that we need to help the referees. (Where did this guy come from? What kind of chess move is that?)
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| Füllkrug's first day in a Milan kit went well, "Lücke" filling a gap that was much needed. |
Abisso introduced himself to Füllkrug after a foul on Luperto. Well, it was probably actually a warning, but I like to think that he at least welcomed him to Serie A or something first, you know. And then it was the 79th minute and Allegri's turn to make another chess move: Pulisic replaced Loftus-Cheek and Gabbia, returning from injury, replaced poor Estupiñan, who just seems in over his head more often than not. A little over 10 minutes, and Allegri brought on our top scorer and our most reliable defender. He was tightening the screws at both ends,
Pulisic's first shot was a shot on goal that Caprile saved, then Juan Rodriguez fouled him really hard. Which would have been ideal to see carded, but whatever. The free kick was taken by Modrić, a nice, low corner strike that Caprile bobbled and then saved Gabbia's rebound. At the other end, Saelemaekers got upset and shoved Palestra, who shoved him back. Honestly, I thought by the end of the match, they would be dating, if not married. But their love spat earned them both yellow cards instead.
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| Pulisic was important subbing on, as always. |
Luperto had to get a nasty tackle in on Füllkrug. And I kinda don't blame him, we are all wondering if those big muscles are actually real, and in a match, fouling someone like that is the most obvious way to find out. Maignan went out of his way to prevent another corner, and then the whistle blew. The chess match was finished, and Milan was the winner.
Credit to Pisacane for playing an excellent match. He had wanted to score in the first half, when his players still had so much energy, but they were unable to break down Milan's defense or be clinical enough to do so. Thoughts are with Pisacane and his family, as news broke that his brother had been shot and hospitalized in Naples just hours after our match. Prayers for a speedy recovery for his brother.
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| Milan's MVP and the player with the assist. Indispensible. |
What made the difference between the managers was that Allegri knew that the match lasted 90 minutes, and counted on the quality he had on his bench. So, while Pisacane's side played a better first half, Allegri's side won it in the second half. He commented that he likes Leão better as a forward, because he "sometimes gets sleepy and loses control" on the left. Perhaps, but I like having Leão healthy and available for most matches, and that doesn't happen when he plays like Allegri wants him to. Maybe we can find a happy medium?
Something else I would like to find is a solution to this price gouging and abuse of policies that other clubs are doing toward our fans when they travel. UEFA's policy is that a minimum of 5% of the tickets available for a match must be given to the away team for UEFA matches, and the prices must be comparable to those of the home tickets. (They also have a price cap on those tickets now.) In Serie A, the regulations state that it should be 10%, with exceptions for certain fan bases due to available police forces, etc. However, none of that applied here.
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| Clean sheet heroes. |
Had Cagliari offered 5% of their 16,000 seats available, it would have been 800 tickets, which is what Milan fans were expecting and had planned for, booking flights and accomodations. However, when tickets went on sale, they only made about 400 tickets available, which is only 2.5% of the stadium. And they cost nearly double the amount of the home tickets. Not only was this unfair in terms of pric gouging, and for the fans who had already spent hundreds of Euros and made plans, but it clearly increased the home advantage, while decreased the influence of the traveling fans. These clubs need to be held accountable by Serie A for violating these regulations.
Still, I was very proud of our 400 fans, who could be heard above the 15,600 Cagliari fans, especially in the second half. And I love seeing their flags and banners when they are away, too. The players appreciated them, too, they were so happy to greet them at the end of this match. The passion of a player like Modrić after a win away to Cagliari demonstrates how important every single three points is toward reaching the Champions League again. Maybe, if Cardinale was watching, he would understand that watching Cagliari actually is important.
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| Not sure if chess players are this happy when they win, but these guys deserved it. |
Not that I am a fan of Allegri's "corto muso" 1-0 wins, but this was more than that, despite the scoreline. There was so much going on with player fitness and availability. And Cagliari put up an excellent fight, despite having injury issues of their own. It was a fascinating chess match of a football game, and gratefully, Milan came out of it with the three points. Because Cagliari were a worthy opponent, despite the huge disparity in player values and wage bills. But for once, Allegri used his subs, and used them like a master, and that made all the difference. Checkmate.
Milan Primavera Defeat Top of the Table Roma 2-1 To Start 2026
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| Plazzotta holds up the shirt of his fallen teammate as a tribute after scoring the opening goal. |
Renna's Milan Primavera have often struggled at home thus far this season, but on Saturday, they won a huge match vs. Guidi's Roma, who came into the match at the top of the table. After taking the lead, Roma equalized, but, in a reversal of their recent fortunes, it was Milan who scored the late goal for the 2-1 win over Roma Primavera. And the scorer of the winning goal was the one younger player who had traveled with the first team to Cagliari the night before, too.
The first half was an intense battle that ended goalless, marred by a knee injury to Di Siena, who had to be replaced by Nolli in just the 12th minute. It was Plazzotta who scored a fantastic opening goal for Milan Primavera in the 48th minute to make it 1-0 for the home side. However, ten minutes later, Di Nunzio pulled one back for Roma to equalize. In the 89th minute, there was a bit of magic from Angelicchio, who put a great cross in, and Castiello found the ball at his feet, turned and shot, scoring the winner. 2-1 Milan Primavera. Brief highlights of this match are available.
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| Castiello and Mancioppi celebrate the late winner. |
Castiello was an important signing this summer from Atalanta, and has been called up by Allegri to the first team for the past two matches, with his first call up vs. Roma in November. He has also featured a number of times for Milan Futuro this season, scoring in the Coppa Italia match vs. Varesina, and breaking into the starting lineup vs. Sondrio in November. This was his third goal of the season for the Primavera.
Having come into this match in 13th place, this victory put Milan Primavera back into the playoff spots, lifting them up to eighth place on the table. Not only did they defeat the top team, they defeated their manager from last season. After some struggles this season, that had to feel good for Renna, too, as this year's Primavera have not fared as well as Guidi's team did last season. However, they don't have time to celebrate, as they face Parma Primavera in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
Milan Futuro Get a Massive 3-0 Win vs. Leon
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| A win worth celebrating. |
Milan Futuro got an important three points on Sunday that propelled them up to third place from their sixth place spot in Group B. The 3-0 victory over Leon was significant because Leon had only conceded 14 goals all season, having the best defensive record of the group going into this match. They also boast the joint top scorer in Group B, so keeping a clean sheet was also massive. Starting 2026 off with such a decisive win will also be great for mentality.
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| Asanji gets his first goal to finish Leon off. |
Oddo's men started off with a few solid chances, but then Pittarella's heroics were necessary to keep Leon off the scoreboard. Milan Futuro answered back with a few excellent chances of their own, but at the halftime whistle, it was still 0-0. That changed very quickly after the half, however, when Sala scored on a rebound to make it 1-0 Milan Futuro. Before Leon could catch their breath, Cappelletti charged in to surprise the keeper and suddenly Milan were up 2-0.
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| Teammates rejoice with Maximilian Ibrahimović and Asanji after the third goal. |
Five minutes later, Maximilian Ibrahimović sent a ball in, and Asanji tapped it in for his very first Futuro goal, making it an insurmountable 3-0 for the visitors. Milan Futuro kept up the pressure, and Leon scored a goal that was called off, leading to Leon's assistant manager being sent off in the 87th minute. At the final whistle, Milan Futuro had all three points and the clean sheet against a tough opponent. Brief highlights are available. Milan Futuro are back in action on Sunday when they host Pavia.