Max Allegri hails Luka Modric for his ‘character and humility’ after giving Milan the 2-1 victory away to Pisa. ‘We should all learn’ from the 40-year-old Croatian.

The Rossoneri have dropped more points against the relegation strugglers than anyone else this season, famously scraping a stoppage-time 2-2 draw with Pisa at San Siro in October.

This felt like a repeat, as after Ruben Loftus-Cheek nodded in the opener, Niclas Fullkrug drilled a penalty onto the upright and Felipe Loyola equalised.

Late on, Luka Modric surged into the box to score the winner, hanging on despite an avoidable Adrien Rabiot red card for dissent.

Allegri sees recurring Milan pattern

“It was not easy tonight, because Pisa are an uncomfortable team to play against. They look like they’re sitting back and doing nothing, then can strike on the counter and caught us napping on their goal too. So we take three points, but we really need to improve after this performance,” Allegri told DAZN.

Milan are now unbeaten in 23 Serie A games, the longest current run in Europe’s top five leagues, and are seemingly the only club able to keep up the pace with leaders Inter.

“This team has technical quality, every now and then we get sluggish mentally, so that is where we still need to step up a gear. The whole season could change in the space of a week, this was our sixth away game of the last nine, so it wasn’t to be taken for granted.”

Modric was named Serie A Man of the Match and became the third-oldest player to score in Serie A history, aged 40 years and 157 days.

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Pisa 1-2 Milan

“Quite aside from his marvellous technique, he really wanted to go and get this victory at the end. We should all learn from his character and incredible humility. We’re so happy to have him here, the younger players must make the most of working with him,” said Allegri.

After Pisa equalised, Allegri threw on Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao to join Fullkrug, but then replaced the German with Koni De Winter to restore balance when Modric scored.

“Penalties can be missed, it was an important moment, but these things happen. Pulisic and Leao came on with the right attitude, having three strikers like this is great for the team to have options.”

Rabiot was already going to be suspended against Como on Wednesday in the rescheduled Serie A Week 24 fixture for the yellow card, but by taking his protests too far, he received a second booking and will also sit out a ban for the Derby della Madonnina with Inter.

Considering the table, would Allegri rather see Inter or Juventus drop points in tomorrow night’s showdown?

“The important thing is that we got three points, now we are on 53, so we are one win closer to achieving our objective,” replied the Milan coach.

Milan scraped a 2-1 victory away to Pisa, despite Niclas Fullkrug missing a penalty and the late Adrien Rabiot red card, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Luka Modric were on target.

The Rossoneri had a game in hand, as the Week 24 fixture with Como was rescheduled to February 18 so San Siro could be used for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic were only fit for the bench, with Alexis Saelemaekers and Santiago Gimenez still out of action. Pisa made their debut under new coach Oscar Hiljemark in last week’s 0-0 draw with Verona. Marius Marin was suspended, with Simone Scuffet, Adrian Semper, Raul Albiol, Daniel Denoon and Isak Vural injured, so third-choice goalkeeper Nicolas had his first Serie A appearance since October 2020.

When these teams met in October 2025, Zachary Athekame snatched a last-gasp 2-2 draw at San Siro, and this was Milan’s first visit to Pisa for 35 years.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Nicolas was rusty and struggled to punch away a Luka Modric free kick, but Pisa had the first real chance when Filip Stojlkovic sprung the offside trap on Stefano Moreo’s through ball, forcing Mike Maignan to rush off his line to parry one-on-one.

Milan took the lead at their first genuine scoring opportunity, as Athekame floated in a cross from the right and found Loftus-Cheek for a free header into the ground from seven yards.

Niclas Fullkrug replaced the ineffective Christopher Nkunku at half-time, and within 60 seconds had knocked the ball down with his arm for Adrien Rabiot’s half-volley, so the goal did not count.

Strahinja Pavlovic ran onto the Davide Bartesaghi pass and was brought down by Loyola for a penalty. Substitute Fullkrug stepped up and drilled it onto the upright, wasting a golden opportunity to double the Rossoneri’s lead.

Stojlkovic blasted over after Samuel Iling-Junior robbed Matteo Gabbia, while Athekame’s effort was charged down after a corner.

The penalty miss gave Pisa hope, and they capitalised on it, as Stojlkovic rolled across from the left for Moreo, with Pavlovic accidentally knocking it into the path of Felipe Loyola, who bent his right-foot finish into the far bottom corner from 12 yards.

Rafael Leao came on and his first touch let him down on a cross from the right, then Fullkrug turned wide of the near post from Samuele Ricci’s assist.

Milan managed to restore their advantage with a great move from Modric, who completed a give and go with Ricci to dribble into the box and dink the finish past Nicolas with the outside of the right boot from seven yards. It was the Croatian veteran’s second Serie A career goal.

It wasn’t over, as Rabiot brought down Piccini on the outside edge of the area and was booked, meaning he’d be suspended for the midweek round with Como. However, the midfielder continued his protests and received a second yellow card, so will also miss the Derby della Madonnina against Inter next week.

Pisa 1-2 Milan

Loftus-Cheek 39 (M), Loyola 71 (P), Modric 85 (M)

Missed penalty: Fullkrug 56 (M)

Sent off: Rabiot 92 (M)

13-02-2026 19:45

MatchDay 25

Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani

Pisa

Milan

1 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Idrissa Touré		16'
		39'		Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Assist: Zachary Athekame)

2nd half

		56'		Niclas Füllkrug
Felipe Loyola		71'
		85'		Luka Modric (Assist: Samuele Ricci)
		88'		Davide Bartesaghi
		90+1'		Adrien Rabiot
		90+1'		Adrien Rabiot

Match statistic

34

Possession %

66

7

Total shots

7

2

Shots on target

2

3

Shots off target

4

2

Blocked shots

1

3

Corners

1

1

Offsides

2

14

Fouls

9

Pisa

Milan

Starting lineups

12

Nicolas

Goalkeeper

4

Antonio Caracciolo

Defender

35

Felipe Loyola

Defender

90'

2

Rosen Bozhinov

Defender

3

Samuele Angori

Defender

5

Simone Canestrelli

Defender

15

Idrissa Touré

Midfielder

86'

10

Matteo Tramoni

Midfielder

57'

20

Michel Aebischer

Midfielder

56'

81

Filip Stojilkovic

Attacker

32

Stefano Moreo

Attacker

87'

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46

Matteo Gabbia

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

77'

12

Adrien Rabiot

Midfielder

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

8

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Midfielder

72'

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

72'

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

46'

Substitutes

11

Juan Cuadrado

Midfielder

33

Arturo Calabresi

Defender

23

Calvin Stengs

Attacker

26

Francesco Coppola

Defender

8

Malthe Höjholt

Midfielder

9

Henrik Meister

Attacker

99

Lorran

Midfielder

34

Tommaso Guizzo

Goalkeeper

31

Matteo Luppichini

Goalkeeper

14

Ebenezer Akinsanmiro

Midfielder

56'

19

Samuel Iling-Junior

Attacker

57'

7

Mehdi Léris

Attacker

86'

36

Gabriele Piccinini

Attacker

87'

17

Rafiu Durosinmi

Attacker

90'

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

2

Pervis Estupiñán

Defender

30

Ardon Jashari

Midfielder

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

27

David Odogu

Defender

10

Rafael Leão

Attacker

72'

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

72'

11

Christian Pulisic

Attacker

77'

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

90'

9

Niclas Füllkrug

Attacker

New Pisa coach Oscar Hiljemark has fond memories of facing Milan in his playing career and wants his team to be ‘more aggressive’ this evening.

It kicks off at the Cetilar Arena at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

Alberto Gilardino was sacked after managing just one win in the opening 23 Serie A rounds, so the club poached 33-year-old Hiljemark from Elfsborg to take over.

He is no stranger to Serie A, having played for Genoa and Palermo, including bagging a brace against Milan when the Sicilians lost 3-2 at San Siro in September 2015.

Hiljemark has strong history with Milan

“I remember scoring two goals against Milan, but it was many years ago, so I hope to win this evening,” Hiljemark told DAZN Italia.

The new boss made his debut in a 0-0 draw away to fellow relegation strugglers Hellas Verona, but this is his first home game.

“It’s a lovely stadium, the fans are ready, I am very happy to be here and with this team. Matteo Tramoni has different characteristics to some of the players who we had last week, he is able to help out the defence too. I want a player who attacks the space and creates room for the others to push up and support him.

“Pisa had one way of working with their staff before, me and my staff want them to be a bit more aggressive in training. Of course, you can’t change a lot in three days of training, but we are trying some things.”

Gilardino’s Pisa held Milan to a surprising 2-2 draw at San Siro back in October 2025, but the Rossoneri have had a definite improvement in form since then.

“Milan are a strong squad, both as individuals and a group, but there are spaces where we can hurt them, and they have some problems in certain phases. We’ll see what happens when the game starts,” concluded Hiljemark.

Max Allegri explains his Milan choices for the trip to Pisa this evening and won’t hold back from Scudetto talk, even if ‘we must not lose sight of our target’ this season.

It kicks off at the Cetilar Arena at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

The Rossoneri have a game in hand, as their Week 24 fixture with Como was rescheduled to February 18 due to San Siro being used for the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, but after that will face leaders Inter in a Scudetto showdown next weekend.

Allegri balancing Milan squad for busy week

“All we can do is try to get as many points as possible for our objective, which is the Champions League place, then we’ll see. Inter are coming off an endless run of victories, they are moving fast, and we must not lose sight of our target,” Allegri told DAZN Italia.

There are some concerns, as Milan only managed a 2-2 draw the last time they met Pisa back in October.

In fact, they had been trailing 2-1 until a last-gasp Zachary Athekame equaliser at San Siro.

“It is a tough game tonight, as Pisa are a battle for everyone, while they have a new coach with fresh ideas,” added Allegri.

“We need concentration and above all respect, playing with a high percentage of accuracy in our passing, because they will be aggressive and press us.

“We need good crosses, as they have players who are very strong in the air, they went close to a winner late on against Verona, so we must remember that games are to be played on the pitch, not on paper.”

Pisa made their debut last week under new coach Oscar Hiljemark, who held Verona to a 0-0 draw to remain in joint bottom place.

With Como and Inter coming up, Milan are resting some figures ahead of Wednesday’s clash, so Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic are only fit for the bench.

“Leao is doing much better, I had a doubt until the last minute on whether to start him or not. Pulisic trained with the team yesterday, so has about 15-20 minutes in his legs. Fullkrug and Jashari are fine, we have some great options to take off the bench,” concluded Allegri.

Cesc Fabregas is ‘surprised’ to see Fiorentina in the relegation zone and insists Como star Nico Paz must learn to ‘live with pressure if he is to play for Real Madrid.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Saturday at 14.00 GMT (15.00 CET).

This is a very busy time for the Lariani, who are fresh off a stunning Coppa Italia quarter-final victory over Napoli, which had to be decided in a sudden death penalty shoot-out at the Stadio Maradona.

Coming up on Wednesday is their rescheduled Serie A trip to Milan, which was moved from last weekend due to San Siro being used for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Fabregas taking Como to new heights

“We know that having extra time affords us the ability to work on certain dynamics that you cannot with just two training sessions per week,” confessed Fabregas in his press conference.

“Everyone studies their opponents in football, we are finding a sense of consistency and doing a few different things too, so the details count, but the whole team has contributed to this success.”

Tomorrow’s opponents Fiorentina had expected to be challenging Como for the European places, but instead find themselves locked in the relegation zone.

“Fiorentina remain a very important club and a great squad, even as a Spaniard I know that Fiorentina are famous. I realise it is a surprise to see where they are in the table, but the same 9-10 players had a great campaign last year,” noted Fabregas.

“It is a fine line between success and failure, the club invested so much and built the Viola Park training complex too. We’ll face them with the mentality of wanting to win, as I am sure they will too.”

The coach had already been approached by Inter last summer and has caught the eye of many more big clubs thanks to Como’s performances, so how satisfied is he with his progress?

“Satisfied is not a word that I have in my dictionary,” he replied.

“You can always do more. I am happy, I see players respond and we are creating something good here. Ahead of the penalties the other day, I felt this energy, everyone was connected and involved, even those who weren’t playing. I am pleased to see the growth of the club in general.”

Just before the penalty shoot-out, Fabregas took Nico Paz off, so was that to spare him the drama of missing another spot-kick after failing three out of three?

“No, I just wanted to avoid counter-attacks for the last 10-15 minutes. I am never afraid, so if Nico misses 10 penalties, I won’t take him off because of that.

“If he is going to play for Real Madrid, he’s going to have to live with a lot more pressure on his shoulders. After all, Ivan Smolcic had never taken a penalty, but he has great strength of character and I see him in training. I liked the idea of changing the characteristics that Milinkovic-Savic was facing.”

Edoardo Goldaniga and Assane Diao are still out of action, while Alvaro Morata is expected to be on the bench.

Milan look to Christopher Nkunku, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot for their trip to Pisa, who are under new coach Oscar Hiljemark.

It kicks off at the Cetilar Arena at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

The Rossoneri rested last weekend, as with San Siro out of action for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, their match with Como has been rescheduled for February 18.

With that in mind, Max Allegri rotates the squad to rest some players for midweek, as Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic are carrying knocks.

Alexis Saelemaekers and long-term absentee Santiago Gimenez are on the treatment table.

Instead, Nkunku leads the attack with support from Loftus-Cheek, Rabiot and Modric, while Zachary Athekame gets a rare start out wide.

Pisa are rock bottom of the Serie A table with just one win in their opening 24 games.

That record saw them sack Alberto Gilardino and bring in former Elfsborg coach Hiljemark, who at age 33 is younger than several of the Milan players.

He is no stranger to Italian football, having played for Genoa and Palermo as recently as 2019.

Hiljemark made his debut with a 0-0 draw against fellow strugglers Hellas Verona.

Marius Marin is suspended, with both goalkeepers Simone Scuffet and Adrian Semper injured, so 37-year-old Brazilian Nicolas has to step in for his first Serie A appearance since October 2020.

Also out of action are Raul Albiol, Daniel Denoon and Isak Vural.

The club bolstered the squad in January with players like Rosen Bozhinov, Samuel Iling-Junior, Felipe Loyola, Michel Aebischer, Filip Stojlkovic and Rafiu Durosinmi.

Pisa vs. Milan line-ups

Pisa: Nicolas; Canestrelli, Caracciolo, Bozhinov; Touré, Aebischer, Loyola, Angori; Tramoni, Stojilkovic, Moreo

Milan: Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Athekame, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Loftus-Cheek, Nkunku

13-02-2026 19:45

MatchDay 25

Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani

Pisa

Milan

1 - 2

Player statistic

1st half

Idrissa Touré		16'
		39'		Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Assist: Zachary Athekame)

2nd half

		56'		Niclas Füllkrug
Felipe Loyola		71'
		85'		Luka Modric (Assist: Samuele Ricci)
		88'		Davide Bartesaghi
		90+1'		Adrien Rabiot
		90+1'		Adrien Rabiot

Match statistic

34

Possession %

66

7

Total shots

7

2

Shots on target

2

3

Shots off target

4

2

Blocked shots

1

3

Corners

1

1

Offsides

2

14

Fouls

9

Pisa

Milan

Starting lineups

12

Nicolas

Goalkeeper

4

Antonio Caracciolo

Defender

35

Felipe Loyola

Defender

90'

2

Rosen Bozhinov

Defender

3

Samuele Angori

Defender

5

Simone Canestrelli

Defender

15

Idrissa Touré

Midfielder

86'

10

Matteo Tramoni

Midfielder

57'

20

Michel Aebischer

Midfielder

56'

81

Filip Stojilkovic

Attacker

32

Stefano Moreo

Attacker

87'

16

Mike Maignan

Goalkeeper

33

Davide Bartesaghi

Defender

23

Fikayo Tomori

Defender

46

Matteo Gabbia

Defender

31

Strahinja Pavlovic

Defender

24

Zachary Athekame

Defender

77'

12

Adrien Rabiot

Midfielder

14

Luka Modric

Midfielder

8

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Midfielder

72'

19

Youssouf Fofana

Midfielder

72'

18

Christopher Nkunku

Attacker

46'

Substitutes

11

Juan Cuadrado

Midfielder

33

Arturo Calabresi

Defender

23

Calvin Stengs

Attacker

26

Francesco Coppola

Defender

8

Malthe Höjholt

Midfielder

9

Henrik Meister

Attacker

99

Lorran

Midfielder

34

Tommaso Guizzo

Goalkeeper

31

Matteo Luppichini

Goalkeeper

14

Ebenezer Akinsanmiro

Midfielder

56'

19

Samuel Iling-Junior

Attacker

57'

7

Mehdi Léris

Attacker

86'

36

Gabriele Piccinini

Attacker

87'

17

Rafiu Durosinmi

Attacker

90'

1

Pietro Terracciano

Goalkeeper

2

Pervis Estupiñán

Defender

30

Ardon Jashari

Midfielder

37

Matteo Pittarella

Goalkeeper

27

David Odogu

Defender

10

Rafael Leão

Attacker

72'

4

Samuele Ricci

Midfielder

72'

11

Christian Pulisic

Attacker

77'

5

Koni De Winter

Defender

90'

9

Niclas Füllkrug

Attacker

Albert Gudmundsson and January signing Daniele Rugani are out of the Fiorentina squad for Saturday’s Serie A match against Como.

It kicks off at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Saturday at 14.00 GMT (15.00 CET).

The Viola have been without Tariq Lamptey for some time and that will drag on for much of the season after surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

Fiorentina lose Gudmundsson to injury

Gudmundsson had to be carried off the field with a sprained left ankle during last week’s 2-2 draw with Torino.

Although there were some encouraging signs in training, medical staff decided not to risk doing further damage, so the Iceland international is not making the trip to Como.

Also left out is former Juventus defender Rugani, who joined on deadline day already carrying a calf strain, so is yet to make his debut for Fiorentina.

His last appearance was in Juve’s 2-1 win over Roma on December 20.

Moise Kean should therefore be flanked by a pair of January signings, Jack Harrison and Manor Solomon.

Fiorentina squad for Como match

Christensen, De Gea, Lezzerini; Balbo, Comuzzo, Dodo, Fortini, Gosens, Kouadio, Parisi, Pongracic, Ranieri; Brescianini, Fabbian, Fagioli, Fazzini, Mandragora, Ndour; Harrison, Kean, Piccoli, Solomon

Italy will begin their Nations League campaign against Belgium on September 25, as the calendar is drawn up for their matches with France and Turkiye too.

The Azzurri were placed in the Group of Death in yesterday’s draw, and only the top two will go into the quarter-finals, while the bottom team can get relegated into League B.

Finishing third means going into a play-off to remain in League A with a team in second place from one of the League B groups.

Italy will open their season at home to Belgium on September 25, then visit Vincenzo Montella’s Turkiye on September 28.

A trip to France awaits on October 2, followed by hosting the Turkish talent of Kenan Yildiz and Hakan Calhanoglu on October 5.

Gennaro Gattuso’s side welcome France on November 12 and finish by visiting Belgium on November 15.

Nations League Group A fixtures

September 25

Italy vs. Belgium and Turkiye vs. France

September 28

Belgium vs. France and Turkiye vs. Italy

October 2

Belgium vs. Turkiye and France vs. Italy

October 5

France vs. Belgium and Italy vs. Turkiye

November 12

Turkiye vs. Belgium and Italy vs. France

November 15

Belgium vs. Italy and France vs. Turkiye

The number of Scotland international players on show in Serie A has prompted the return of Italian football to British free to air television in a new deal with BBC Alba.

The channel has signed a six-figure deal to show up to eight live matches from Italy’s top flight from now until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Scott McTominay was named Serie A Player of the Season in 2024-25 when winning the Scudetto at Napoli.

He is still making a big impact in Antonio Conte’s midfield, but is only part of a growing Scottish clan of Calcio stars.

Scotland flourishing in Serie A

Che Adams is at Torino, Billy Gilmour at Napoli, Bologna have captain Lewis Ferguson, Josh Doig is a regular at Sassuolo, while Lennon Miller joined Udinese.

The latest arrival on Italian soil is former Hibernian striker Kieron Bowie, who made his debut for Verona last week.

With that in mind, BBC Alba’s first Serie A game airing this weekend will be Torino vs. Bologna, with Adams against Ferguson.

That kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

“We work very closely with Serie A to promote Italian football in every country, in as many languages as possible,” said Verona CEO Italo Zanzi to The Scotsman.

“This is completely aligned with that objective. Scottish football is in a very positive place right now in my mind, both with the international team and domestically. Obviously, we have had many players who have not only come to Italy, but really succeeded.”

Watch Serie A LIVE on BBC ALBA!

Torino v Bologna

Dìdòmhnaich 15.02.26 16:50 – KO 17.00#SerieA #HomeOfCalcio #Torino #Bologna#Gàidhlig #spòrs @BBCSport @BBCScotland @BBCSpors pic.twitter.com/IxkrFQCZXm

— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) February 13, 2026