Christian Pulisic reveals 'essential characteristic' Massimiliano Allegri is trying to instil at AC Milan as USMNT star sets main goal for 2025-26 season

Allegri has taken charge of Milan for a second stint and will be hoping to improve on a disappointing 2024-25 campaign that brought an eighth-placed finish in Serie A and defeat to Bologna in the Coppa Italia final. There will be no European football for Milan next season, meaning the Rossoneri will be free to focus on domestic success.

Pulisic will again be expected to play a key role for Milan, following a campaign where he scored 17 goals and bagged 10 assists in all competitions for the Italian side. Allegri's side have enjoyed wins over Arsenal and Liverpool in pre-season, and Pulisic thinks Allegri has made a promising start to life at San Siro.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: "In my opinion, Allegri has started off on the right foot. He’s coached many champions, he knows how to talk to players, how to create the right feeling with the team, and he’s focusing on giving Milan significant defensive compactness, an essential characteristic for creating scoring opportunities."

Pulisic was also asked for his goals for the season and answered "to always do better". The USMNT star then elaborated further: "Here at Milan, I was given freedom from the start, and I feel the trust in me from everyone: from my teammates to the coach, from the directors to the fans.

"I will miss the Champions League, it's where we want to be. Our goal is to qualify next year, it's the most exciting European competition and Milan deserves to play in it. There are many strong teams in Serie A. I don't expect Napoli and Inter to go head-to-head all season because they'll face several competitive opponents. We'll try to win as many games as possible and finish as high as we can."

Milan are now in Australia as part of their pre-season preparations and face Perth Glory next. The team then head back to Europe for friendlies against Leeds United and Chelsea before a Coppa Italia clash with Bari on August 17.