AC Milan opened the 2025-26 Serie A season on the wrong foot, falling 2-1 to Cremonese at San Siro in a shock result that left fans frustrated. After the underwhelming debut, head coach Massimiliano Allegri discussed Santiago Gimenez’s lack of sharpness at the start of the campaign.
Rafael Leao suffered a calf injury during last week’s Coppa Italia match against Bari, forcing him off shortly after scoring. Combined with Noah Okafor’s move to Leeds United, Allegri was left with only two options in attack for the season opener: Christian Pulisic and Giménez.
Speaking to DAZN Italy, Allegri was asked about the Mexican striker’s performance. “He’s a bit behind in terms of fitness, but he worked hard, gave everything he could, and in the end had a great header chance that didn’t go in,” Allegri stated.
While acknowledging his lack of form, Allegri defended Gimenez, stressing it was more of a collective issue: “But it’s not about Santiago, it’s about all of us. We all need to take responsibility when we play and prepare matches in a certain way, we simply cannot concede goals like that.”
Santiago Gimenez of AC Milan controls the ball whilst under pressure from Federico Baschirotto of Cremonese during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Cremonese.
Gimenez missed Milan’s Asia-Pacific preseason tour due to his recent international duty, having just helped Mexico lift the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He rejoined the team on August 4, but his limited preseason action has left him short of rhythm heading into the new Serie A campaign.
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Gimenez backed by his teammate
In the 19th minute against Cremonese, Gimenez appeared to put Milan ahead, finishing a Luka Modric pass with a composed half-volley. However, the goal was ruled out for offside. Later, he failed to convert a last-minute header that could have earned Milan a draw, closing out a frustrating day for both the striker and the team.
After the match, Milan winger Alexis Saelemaekers showed his support for the Mexican forward: “We’ll help any player to score. Today we didn’t help Santi to score, and he was also a bit unlucky with the offside. But whoever plays there, we have to support him.”
