Allegri’s team is leading the head-to-head league table, but has thrown away heavy points against the provincial teams.
It’s not just a feeling, but there is the comfort of numbers. Allegri’s Milan entered the season with the attitude of the great and has a flattering ranking that could even have been better. With a third of the championship completed, it is not time for definitive assessments, but some indications are emerging. And the main one is that the Rossoneri are dominating the “head-to-head tournament”, only to then throw themselves away and squander bloody points when they challenge the province.
Max Allegri’s team has a championship pace if it meets the teams at the top of the table. Taking as a reference the positions that would lead to Europe today, from the first of Inter and Roma to the number 6 of Juventus, Milan has so far collected 10 points in 4 games played. Only the derby with Inter is missing which is scheduled for the resumption of hostilities after the international break, but for the rest the path is almost clear.
Only Juventus managed to stop Milan, in a match that ended in a draw and in which Pulisic ate the penalty opportunity. Roma (1-0 at San Siro with a penalty saved by Maignan), Napoli (2-1 despite having played part of the second half in numerical inferiority) and Bologna (1-0 at the start of the season) have surrendered to the pace of the Rossoneri who travel with the stratospheric average of 2.5 per match in big matches.
It’s a shame for Allegri that such an advantage was squandered in the so-called transfer stages: defeat against Cremonese at home, draws with Pisa and Parma led to a waste of 7 potential points which today would almost mean an escape ahead of all the opponents. This is also why the comeback suffered at the Tardini hurts and will have to be canceled when the championship resumes.
And the others? None are even remotely close to Milan in terms of performance in direct matches. On the contrary. There is an absolute balance in the statistical mediocrity because Inter, Roma, Napoli and Bologna are stuck at 3 points in 3 games (average 1.00) having all suffered two defeats which have eroded any other good performances. Juventus is an exception but is also the one with the fewest completed commitments. The Bianconeri beat Inter and stopped Milan at the Stadium (4 points with a precise average of 2) but now they have to face Roma, Naples and Bologna.
