Still without a goal in the league – between disallowed goals, shots off the post, and glaring errors – yet the more games go by, the more he appears to be useful to Allegri’s game. In fact, Allegri is satisfied and never misses an opportunity to praise him.

He is comforted not only by the coach’s praise, but also by the fans’ applause when he is substituted. And the “gut feeling” of the people is an excellent indicator of the atmosphere surrounding a player. Santiago Gimenez’s season has been strange, very strange indeed: after a decidedly laborious start, with a series of mistakes in front of goal that had generated an alert as big as Casa Milan, his situation in personal terms has gradually improved.
So much so that we have reached an obvious paradox: Santi has become a fixture in the attack despite still being goalless in the league, despite his 455 minutes on the pitch. The only goal came in the Coppa Italia, in the round of 32 against Lecce. But in Serie A, the plate is empty and his appetite grows immoderately week after week.
This is also because, up to this point, between posts (two), disallowed goals (two), and blunders (at least three), the Mexican’s first two months of the season in terms of goals scored resemble a run across a field of nails. Fortunately for him, however, Allegri has designed a Milan team that somehow manages to find the back of the net without necessarily going through its center forward. The midfielders have a more obvious role to play than last year, Pulisic is a constant question mark for opposing defenses, and the attack is also fueled by central defenders such as Tomori and Pavlovic, who turn into additional wingers. That’s why Allegri isn’t worried about Santiago’s zero goals scored: simply put, at least for now, he’s satisfied with everything else the Mexican does. Max doesn’t fail to emphasize this publicly, not only because compliments are good for morale, but because these concepts are actually visible on the field.

Guarantees—  One thing has been clear since the summer: Gimenez is the only center forward in the squad. The first thought that springs to mind is: a center forward who doesn’t score is a problem. In this Milan team, that’s not the case for now. It will be if we’re still here at zero points at Christmas. But not now, because the Mexican offers the coach and the team a way of putting pressure on opponents that two-thirds of his teammates, for various reasons, cannot guarantee. The only one capable of performing those tasks—at least partially—with consistency is Pulisic. In fact, he is the real stalwart of the team. But Gimenez is now hot on his heels, partly due to a lack of competition. Leao has once again been the subject of much discussion and criticism regarding his attitude, but Rafa will always interpret the role of striker according to his characteristics (at least on this point, he cannot be blamed). Nkunku certainly has more of a collective attitude, but, beyond his still precarious athletic condition, he is not a center forward. He likes to vary his play and drop back. That’s why Gimenez, despite everything, remains firmly at the center of the attack for now. Because he often draws defenders away and opens up space, because he causes problems for opposing center backs, because he knows how to dictate depth to ball carriers. Of course, if he started scoring, it would help him a lot in the future, because Leao and Nkunku will often demand the spotlight over the course of a season. In the meantime, however, Allegri is enjoying the Santi paradox: he doesn’t score, but he deserves to play.