Allegri: Milan have ‘four pivotal matches in a season, tomorrow is one of them’ | OneFootball

Massimiliano Allegri believes that Milan face ‘four pivotal matches’ each season, and claims that Saturday’s trip to Udinese in Serie A ‘is one of them’ as the Rossoneri look to continue their two-game winning streak.

Milan are back in Serie A action on Saturday, away against Udinese, following recent victories over Bologna, Lecce and their surprise opening day defeat against newly-promoted Cremonese.

Allegri and his players have a tricky run of fixtures lying ahead of them, beginning with a Serie A and Coppa Italia double-up this coming week, before league fixtures against Napoli, Juventus and Fiorentina towards the end of September and early October.

MILAN, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Players of AC Milan applaud the fans after their side’s defeat in the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Cremonese at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on August 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Of the upcoming matches against Udinese, Lecce, Napoli and Juventus, Allegri claims that the game on Saturday is the most important for Milan.

What Allegri said about Milan and importance of Udinese fixture

“All I know is that we’re coming off two wins, that we’re facing a difficult game against a very physical team with good technical players,” Allegri said at the beginning of his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“Tomorrow is a very big test, the boys know it and we’ve spoken about it. We need continuity. We have a big chance tomorrow, while knowing that we’re going up against a team that is very difficult to beat.

MILAN, ITALY – AUGUST 23: AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri gestures during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Cremonese at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on August 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“It’s not the case that we’ve won two games and have become great and beautiful to watch, we still have our flaws. The important thing is that we turn on the switch at 20.45 tomorrow, otherwise we risk hurting ourselves.

“Each season there are four pivotal games: Tomorrow is one of the four. It will take compactness, technique and a great sense of responsibility.

“We have to forget about previous wins and only focus on what we have to do. Out of the games against (Udinese), Lecce, Napoli and Juventus, tomorrow is the most important one.”

Allegri was also asked if he sees a midfield trio of Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as his first-choice midfield this season.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 14: Luka Modric of AC Milan celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Bologna FC 1909 at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

He replied: “It’s not a question of balance, it depends on the moments in-game. We can play in different ways. Fofana is a great player, he’s important for us, but he needs to score more goals. We’re working with everyone on that.”

He later added: “The forwards need to score a certain number of goals, the rest by midfielders and defenders. We have great strikers who have goals in their legs. The midfielders can also give us a hand.”

Allegri, who was sent off for his appeals to the fourth official at the end of Milan’s 1-0 win over Bologna last weekend, was asked for his opinion on the current state of VAR.

“I don’t know what needs to be improved for referees and VAR,” he replied. “VAR has improved football and decreased the number of errors, but it’s understandable that VAR is subjective. So, there have been mistakes and there will still be more.”

Allegri was also asked if he will take inspiration from Luis Enrique and watch more games from the stands, as he will be forced to do against Udinese on Saturday.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 14: Massimiliano Allegri reacts during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Bologna FC 1909 at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 14, 2025 in San Siro, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

He replied: “I’ll try it tomorrow, I don’t know. Luis Enrique is great at watching games from the stands, I don’t know if I can do it. Let’s hope it works out for the best.”

Allegri believes that time and patience is one of the most important things for his current squad.

“We have 10 new players in a group of 19, so the more time that passes, the better we will do. There were moments against Bologna where we made the wrong choice of pass, but we will improve on that over time, getting to know each other better and better.”

Allegri was asked what changes he has seen in Milan over the last 12 months.

He said: “We have to be united for the players. They’re the ones who win us games. I try to give them a hand and do as little damage as possible. We have to keep a low profile, it’s normal to win games at Milan. It has to be the norm and not a novelty. The novelty is when we lose matches.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 14: Adrien Rabiot hugs teammate Christopher Nkunku during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Bologna FC 1909 at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 14, 2025 in San Siro, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“We can’t have these ups and downs. We have to have mental strength and understand that we’ve still got 35 games to go until the end. We have to reach our goal step by step. We’re a certain number of points away and we have to get there.”

Lastly, Allegri was asked where Modric ranks among the previous ‘champions’ he has had the honour of coaching.

“I’ve been lucky, I’ve coached a lot of them,” he said.  “Modric is a Ballon d’Or winner, there’s no need to say anything more. It’s an absolute pleasure to watch him play. He’s a guy who makes himself available to the group and shows a lot of willingness.”