AC Milan Remain Focused On Top-Four Finish After Lecce Win

Niclas Fullkrug’s late header secured a 1-0 home win over Lecce, keeping AC Milan firmly placed in the Serie A title picture while strengthening the club’s primary aim of a top-four finish, as Massimiliano

Allegri again stressed the importance of Champions League qualification over chasing the Scudetto.

The result left AC Milan second in Serie A after 21 matches, three points behind leaders Inter and three clear of Napoli, but more significantly seven ahead of fifth-placed Juventus, giving the Rossoneri a strong cushion in the race for next season’s Champions League places.

According to the Opta supercomputer, Allegri’s side now hold a 90.9% probability of ending the campaign inside the top four. That figure reflects both Milan’s position and the growing gap to Juventus, yet Allegri remains cautious and prefers to rely on projections rather than sentiment when judging the situation.

"We're halfway to the target that we set ourselves, Allegri told DAZN Italia. When we are mathematically in the top four, then I can look beyond that. But as of today, the quota for a Champions League place is 74 points, while with Inter's form it is going up to 86-88. That's just mathematics, where teams are now. If you think they'll average two points per game, that is where they will end up. "

Milan opened this Serie A campaign with a home defeat against Cremonese, but have avoided any further league losses since that setback. Across the following 20 top-flight fixtures, Milan collected 12 victories and eight draws, creating their longest unbeaten sequence in Serie A since the run achieved under Fabio Capello between September 1992 and March 1993.

Allegri’s current group has matched that historic consistency while operating in a very different league context, with Inter setting a demanding pace at the top. This extended streak has supplied the platform for Milan’s strong probability of securing Champions League qualification and has reduced the margin for error against lower-ranked sides.

The clash with Lecce underlined those fine margins. Relegation-threatened Lecce frustrated Milan for long periods, with goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone delivering an impressive performance at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Falcone produced five saves and kept the match level until the 76th minute, when Milan finally broke through from close range.

W pic.twitter.com/virGXKmDyYAC Milan (@acmilan) January 18, 2026

AC Milan Serie A impact of substitutes and Fullkrug’s decisive role

Fullkrug met an Alexis Saelemaekers cross with a precise header into the bottom-right corner, leaving Falcone with no chance. The strike represented Milan’s sixth league goal from a substitute this season, the highest such figure for any Serie A club, underlining the value of Allegri’s options from the bench.

"The most important thing is that with five changes available in modern football, substitutions become decisive, Allegri added. At certain moments of the match, a player like Fullkrug brings freshness into the box. "

Fullkrug’s impact also carried historical significance for Milan. The forward became only the third German player to score for the club in Serie A, joining Oliver Bierhoff, who registered 36 league goals, and Christian Ziege, who scored four. That context highlighted how rare it remains for German players to feature prominently in Milan’s league history.

AC Milan Serie A assist numbers and Fullkrug’s scoring drought ends

Before heading in against Lecce, Fullkrug had not scored in any of Europe’s top five leagues since 5 April of the previous season, when Fullkrug found the net for West Ham against Bournemouth in the Premier League. Ending that run at San Siro provided a timely contribution during a period of sustained Milan pressure.

Fullkrug immediately pointed to the quality of Saelemaekers’ delivery from the right byline, which picked out the run perfectly inside the penalty area. Saelemaekers moved to three Serie A assists for the current season; the Belgian has only bettered that total once, during the 2020-21 league campaign, when registering four assists.

"I wanted to come on. Of course, I was ready and waiting to finally come on, and it was a good moment to change because we were attack, attack, attack,Fullkrug added. Finally, I got an incredible assist from Ale, and it's a dream for a striker to get an assist like this. "

The victory over Lecce extended Milan’s unbeaten league sequence and solidified second place while keeping Inter within reach, yet Allegri continues to judge progress against the target of securing a Champions League place, using projected points totals and the current table to measure how far Milan still need to go.