Luka Modric shines amidst AC Milan's curse

PISA, SATURDAY - The shadow of the "curse" of the bottom teams still looms over AC Milan despite successfully overcoming the challenge posed by the relegation zone occupants, Pisa. This hard-fought victory reaffirms the central role of Luca Modric. AC Milan remains unbeaten.

AC Milan could have won without drama if they had played at the Romeo Anconetan Stadium in Pisa on Saturday (14/2/2026) with the same mentality as when facing teams in the top five. However, the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri seemed to choose to complicate things for themselves before eventually winning 2-1 in that match of the 25th week of the Italian League.

This is evident in the statistics. The visiting team indeed dominated possession with 66 percent, but in terms of attacking, they were less effective than Pisa. The shooting accuracy was only 28 percent, compared to 33 percent for the home team. The significant opportunity from the penalty spot also could not be converted into a goal.

"This evening was not easy because Pisa is a team that is uncomfortable to face. We even took risks. In the end, we earned three points, but this match clearly shows that we need to improve our performance," said Allegri to DAZN.

In fact, when facing the league leaders, Inter Milan, in the 12th week, for instance, AC Milan performed better. Although there is also the factor of derby prestige, at the very least "I Rossoneri" brought a winning mentality with an effective attack rate of 42 percent, despite having only 7 shots compared to 20.

The problem is that lower-ranked teams like Pisa often pose difficulties for Milan. It seems as though there is a curse looming over Mike Maignan and his teammates when facing teams that, on paper, are actually weaker than them.

When playing at home against Pisa, Milan could only bring home one point after a 2-2 draw. As a result, when visiting Pisa's home ground, Milan managed to secure only 15 points from a total of 11 matches against teams in the lower half of the standings.

Milan's hope of performing better in the second meeting actually arose after Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored a goal with a header in the 39th minute. However, the goal came after Loftus-Cheek was "awakened" by Allegri, who was frustrated with his performance.

According to Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Allegri assessed that the English midfielder was inactive. Not only were his chances diminishing, but Loftus-Cheek was also not providing enough ball for his teammates.

Allegri then asked Loftus-Cheek to be more daring in attacking and to look for empty spaces in the penalty box like a striker.

"Other players must learn from Luka (Modric). Aside from his extraordinary technical quality, he continues to strive and attempt to achieve victory. It is more about character," said Allegri.

Modric, named Man of the Match, emerged as a savior when Milan were in trouble. After Niclas Fulkrug's penalty was missed in the 56th minute, Milan conceded a goal through Felipe Loyola in the 71st minute. A draw loomed for the visitors.

Modric was present to make a difference. The veteran midfielder surged into the penalty area through a collaboration with Samuele Ricci to ensure Milan regained the lead five minutes before the end of normal time.

Modric's winning goal made him the third oldest player to score in Serie A at the age of 40 years and 157 days. Modric joins Alessandro Costacurta and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in this achievement.

Modric acknowledged that his team was complacent in the second half, which allowed Pisa to equalize. However, they managed to bounce back by playing more aggressively to score a response goal.

"This is important for us, we cannot miss today's victory, because we know these points are very crucial to remain competitive in the league title race, and we have succeeded in doing so," said Modric.

The victory, which came at a high cost with Adrien Rabiot receiving a red card towards the end of the match, has kept Milan unbeaten in 23 matches. Since their defeat of 1-2 to Cremonese in the opening week, Milan has not experienced another loss.

With 15 wins and 8 draws in this season's Serie A, Milan has matched their third-longest unbeaten record in a single season (23 consecutive matches, between September 1992 and March 1993). "I Rossoneri" also holds the longest ongoing unbeaten record among the top 5 European leagues at present.

The Red and Blacks remain five points behind Inter in second place in the standings. Inter will face Juventus in the Derby d'Italia early Sunday morning (February 15, 2026).