Week 4: Udinese - Milan September 20 2025 20:45CET

[reza]

Probably no Leao, Maignan, Pavlovic.
Pulisic should start, this might mean Fofana on the bench (RLC part of the 5 midfield)?

[Aficio]

I was surprised with Rabiot starting last match, his performance showed that he doesn't need time to gel. So he will start again.
Our CF is not tall and playing as a pressing player, so RLC with his height and ball carrying will start alongside Rabiot.
These 3 will be good decoys.

Pulisic, now fully fit, will start.
Last match, I have high expectation for a positive progress from Fofana. Thank for Rabiot's form, his so so performance did help the team. But he should be aware that Ricci is ready to take his place anytime.

De Winter is an improvement for LCB.
The match after this is Coppa against Lecce, so Terraciano for this, and Torriani for that is logical. Less pressure for the youngster.

[xudong]

Rabiot is a highly efficient player who knows Allegri's system very well, so his joining the team is an instant improvement. The only (long-term) negative effect is Jashari's time will be limited, but we can't worry about the future if we don't have the present.

Fofana probably will be used more against bigger team, and I think he still has plenty of chances to prove himself and retain his spot, but it is always good that we have quality substitute by the side ready to take over.

De Winter.. I thought he was a RCB, so I was surprised to see him step in to play on the left.

I am excited and anxious with this game. Udinese has never been easy, and this probably is our first real test of the season, and should be a great warm-up towards the next two huge games.

[Codazzi]

I am excited too. After years of turmoil, I do hope for a stable technical management. First season of Allegri is crucial and a good start will definitely help. We lost a game that we did not expect, a win in this game can cover that up.

I'm okay if it will be 0-1 and kinda boring football. Don't care about quality football until november or so, just 3 points is sufficient for now.

[Aficio]

Between the 2 periods of Allegri, there is no coach better than him.

Cremonese got 7 points in 3 matches, their coach is something. The team played in a more disciplined way than us.
The lost against them is reasonable, and we need it for a wake up call.

[Aficio]

Udinese beat Inter 2–1 in the second week, so I went back and watched the highlights:
Match highlights – Udinese vs Inter

It was clear that Chivu wasn’t fully prepared for the job, while Udinese’s coach came in with a clear, effective plan.

Inter repeatedly lost out on second balls, largely because their first touches were poor and their long balls lacked quality. Udinese simply waited for those heavy touches and pounced to win possession. For us, this is a reminder to be more patient in our build-up—especially when Maignan is unavailable and our centre-backs aren’t fully ready.

Udinese’s back three were excellent at locking down the penalty area. However, they neglected the flanks. In both Inter’s goal and their disallowed one, Dimarco and Dumfries were left completely unmarked.

Offensively, Udinese were smart in overloading the box with an extra runner. They frequently played through balls and lofted passes into the area near the posts. Their penalty came when a header struck Dumfries’ arm. Barella, meanwhile, often failed to track back and support his centre-backs.

For us, I think we should limit long balls from deep. Starting Rabiot and Ricci would make sense—their tactical awareness could help cut out attacks from the “second layer.” Fofana often lets his man run free, and RLC seems unaware of the danger.

Finally, we should look to exploit the flanks more aggressively, as Udinese’s defensive shape leaves them vulnerable there.

[Beppe]

Very decent performance again. Defensively stable! I like it.
Modric and Rabiot excellent!

[Santino]

What year is this?

[xudong]

Rabiot and Pulisic are top players in terms of football IQ. I am not putting Modric here, because he is pretty much god level. You can see him always in the right place doing the right thing. I am in awe.

Everyone has a nice game, but Gimenez still needs to improve his game. I am afraid that he may run into a CdK-esque vicious cycle. He has the advantage of lack of (natural) competition but if he continues to underperform, Leao, Pulisic, Nkunko all could just take his place. Nkunku didn't have a good game today. I know that he didn't have a lot of times but I barely saw him.

One last thing: I saw Pulisic was limping a bit. That concerns me. Is he still nurturing an ankle injury?

[xudong]

One more note: With Maignan, Leao and Jashari injured, we have such a thin squad now. Today, the only players that didn't get minutes from the entire 22-man first team were just Torriani, Bartesaghi and Odogu.

I wish we didn't have to play Lecce on Tuesday (the stupid cup game), but at least we play Napoli at home (I believe) and Napoli also has their second CL match coming up three days after.