Milan hosted Cagliari at San Siro on 24 May in the 38th round of Serie A, kick‑off 20.45, with Massimiliano Allegri — who once coached Cagliari — preparing a side chasing a place in the Champions League.
The matchup carried weight in numbers: Milan had gone unbeaten in 41 of their last 42 Serie A meetings with Cagliari and had won 18 of their last 21 home league matches against the island club. Milan had also won seven of their previous eight final‑day Serie A matches, while Cagliari had lost five of their previous six final days. Cagliari’s last league win at the Meazza dated to 1 June 1997, a 1-0 victory thanks to Roberto Muzzi.
The official lineups were announced before kick‑off. Milan named Maignan in goal with Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic and Saelemaekers across the back; Fofana, Jashari and Rabiot in midfield; Bartesaghi and Gimenez supporting Nkunku up front. Cagliari started with Caprile; Mina, Rodriguez, Zé Pedro and Zappa at the back; Gaetano, Deiola and Adopo in midfield; Obert, Esposito and Borrelli leading the attack. The match officials were Marco Guida of Torre Annunziata, assisted by Fabiano Preti and Filippo Bercigli, with Giovanni Ayroldi the fourth official; Rosario Abisso handled VAR and Daniele Chiffi was AVAR. The game was available live on the DAZN app and on the DAZN channel on Sky channel 214.
Context sharpened the evening. This was Cagliari’s final league match of the season after they secured mathematical safety with a 2-1 win over Torino at the Unipol Domus on 24 May. For Milan, the fixture was part of a late push to lock down Champions League football next season. Both clubs had shown resilience in different ways during the campaign: Milan and Cagliari had each recovered 14 points from losing positions in Serie A this season, and Milan’s spot‑kick record featured seven goals from nine penalty attempts.
The tension was obvious. Historical form stacked the odds toward Milan at San Siro, while Cagliari arrived with momentum from safety but poor away numbers: they had taken only two points from their previous six away league matches and had failed to score in their last two on the road. Cagliari’s squad for the trip mixed experience and youth — Mattia Felici returned after many months out with a cruciate ligament injury, senior players Idrissi, Pavoletti, Folorunsho and Kilicsoy were unavailable, and Primavera players Grandu, Russo and Sulev were included in the group.
There was an additional subplot in Allegri’s return to a ground and opponents he knows well. His familiarity with Cagliari’s culture and players is a tactical blunt instrument in a game that, on paper, looks like a home fixture Milan should win. That said, Cagliari’s late assurance of safety and the presence of recovering players inject an element of unpredictability into what would otherwise be a routine final‑day assignment for the Rossoneri.
How the night ends will determine what matters next: a point or three for Milan would directly influence their bid for Champions League qualification, while Cagliari will take the result as the final line on a season that began in fight and ended with survival. Allegri, back at a stadium where his team have dominated this fixture historically, carries the immediate burden — and the clarity — of getting the result his club needs.
