Allegri: ‘Milan should have managed Verona better, 82-84 points for the Scudetto’

Massimiliano Allegri did not deny the fact that there is still room for improvement for Milan despite their 3-0 victory against Hellas Verona on Sunday afternoon, and predicts that it will take 82 to 84 points to win the Scudetto this season. 

Milan temporarily moved to the top of the Serie A standings thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic and Christopher Nkunku in a 3-0 victory at home against Verona on Sunday. 

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Despite the convincing scoreline, Milan didn’t exactly show the best version of themselves during the first half and were limited to half-chances from set-pieces for the most part.

Pulisic broke the deadlock from a corner moments before half-time, before Nkunku won and converted a penalty almost immediately after the interval. It felt like Milan had gone 2-0 up without really creating any clear-cut opportunities for themselves. 

Allegri admitted that he wasn’t pleased with his side’s first-half performance, but admired their improvement in the second period, and was particularly pleased for Nkunku, who scored his first Serie A goals at the 12th time of asking. 

“That’s normal. He’s a good guy who wants to do well. He broke his duck today and then after the penalty, scored a goal that was in his DNA. I think he can continue and improve like everyone else,” Allegri told DAZN after full-time. 

He continued: “We were a bit too conservative in the first half, we did better in the second, but should have managed the ball better at 3-0.” 

Allegri also gave his thoughts on the thrilling Serie A title race, which currently has five teams within five points at the top of the standings, and could become even closer by the end of the weekend. 

“The longer it goes on, the more difficult it will become,” he explained. “Playing against Cagliari will be tough, we need to prepare well. We need everyone because we have a huge month between now and February.” 

Allegri went on to predict how many points it will take to win the Serie A title this season. 

“At the moment, it looks like the Scudetto will be won on somewhere between 82 and 84 points. It could become 86 if a team has a good run, I don’t know. For us, it was important to win today and against a frustrating team who have a lot of speed. We finally beat a smaller side at home. 

“We need to get Leao back to 100%, even Pulisic is not yet at his best. We have to return to the Champions League next year. As Capello said, it’s very difficult.” 

Lastly, Allegri was asked what it meant to him to see his former Juventus President Andrea Agnelli in the San Siro stands on Sunday. 

“It was nice to see that the President came to watch the game,” he said. “We have a great relationship and we will go and get lunch together after this.”