Allegri praises young centre-backs

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes the future is bright for the club’s defence.

The back four has always been a traditional strength among Milan teams over the last 20 years, dating back to the days of Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta but in the last couple of seasons, Milan have struggled, not least due to the often injury-induced absence of Alessandro Nesta.

However, following the penalty defeat after a 0-0 draw with Juventus in the Berlusconi Trophy at the San Siro on Sunday, Allegri paid tribute to Thiago Silva, 25, and new Greek signing from Genoa Soktratis Papastathopoulos, 22.

“In central defence Silva and Papastathopoulos did well but also the rest of the defence played well,” he said.