Milan’s Massimiliano Allegri took some comfort from a rare clean sheet despite his side’s failure to beat a spirited Sampdoria Sunday night.
Milan were perhaps lucky to avoid defeat at the Marassi as a rejuvenated Sampdoria dominated proceedings, with Mauro Icardi, Andrea Poli and Daniele Gastaldello all spurning clear-cut chances to complete a first league double over the Rossoneri since the 1996-97 season.
Following the stalemate, seventh-placed Milan have only kept four clean sheets in the current Serie A campaign, but coach Allegri believes his side still have an excellent chance of qualifying for Europe.
He said: “We didn’t concede and it’s been a while since that happened.
“It’s true that we didn’t score but we’re in a good position in the league, we have to keep on working to achieve decent results before the end of the campaign.
“This year, the league is much more balanced and there are a lot of teams trying to get into the European places. Considering our disastrous start to the season, we’ve improved a lot and we’re on an average of two points per game.
“We have to continue to im-prove, starting from the match against Bologna. The young players all did well.”
French striker M’Baye Niang, signed from Caen in the summer, struggled to make an impact in the first half but posed Milan’s greatest threat after the break.
The 18-year-old said: “The whole team did well and we didn’t concede.
“We have to improve and win against Bologna. I’m happy with my performance both in attack and defensively. The played a tight game and it was very difficult.”
Sampdoria look a different outfit under Delio Rossi, who replaced Ciro Ferrara last month, and the ex-Fiorentina boss feels his charges will soon climb away from danger.
“Survive? Of course I believe we can survive. I didn’t just come here to steal six months of wages,” he said.
“After last week’s great performance in Turin (2-1 win over Juventus) we needed to prove ourselves against another big team. This is a great Sampdoria side. The lads are all behind me and we can get even better.
“There’s a great will to fight and to improve here.”