Massimiliano Allegri believes AC Milan must win five more games this season to secure a top-four spot in Serie A as he takes his focus away from the title race.

The Rossoneri defeated league leaders and rivals Inter last weekend to cut the gap between the two sides to just seven points.

Inter could only draw with Atalanta on Saturday, meaning the gap is at eight points ahead of Milan facing Lazio on Sunday.

Milan are nine points clear of fifth-place Roma, who are currently battling Juventus and Como for the final Champions League spot.

Allegri's side have picked up 60 points in 28 Serie A matches this season. Only twice in the last 20 top-flight campaigns have they recorded at least 63 points after their first 29 games: in 2011-12 (63) and 2021-22 (63).

But Allegri reiterated Milan's ambition to return to the Champions League, rather than win the Scudetto.

"We’re all happy after the last game and rightly so, but the team returned to a calm state," he said. 

"Now we’ve got Lazio, though, which is always a complicated game because [Maurizio] Sarri’s sides are difficult to face.

"For us it’s an important game because we want to take another step forwards.

"We have to try and win games because you don’t get anywhere with just 60 points. Inter have a seven-point advantage, they’ve shown us that they’re the best and the strongest. 

"There are also teams behind us chasing. We have to win more games to reach a certain quota. We have to win five more games to get into the top four."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Lazio – Daniel Maldini

Maldini has scored for five different Serie A teams, with his goal against Sassuolo for Lazio meaning he has netted for Milan (2021-22), Cosenza, Spezia, Empoli and now the Biancocelesti.

He is one of only two footballers born in or after 2001 to score for five or more different clubs in the competition, alongside Roberto Piccoli (six).

AC Milan – Rafael Leao

Lazio are one of only two sides against which Leao has scored three or more goals and provided three or more assists in Serie A (three goals, four assists), alongside Hellas Verona.

The Milan forward has been involved in five goals across his last five Serie A appearances against Lazio (two goals and three assists).

MATCH PREDICTION: AC MILAN WIN

Milan are unbeaten in seven of their last nine Serie A matches against Lazio (W6 D1), with their two defeats in this period coming in January 2023 (0-4) and March 2025 (1-2).

The Rossoneri have scored in 25 of their last 27 matches against Lazio in Serie A, netting a total of 43 goals in the process, an average of 1.6 per game.

Lazio have not recorded the same result in any of their last 12 home Serie A matches against Milan (W4 D4 L4 for both teams in that period). Their most recent meeting at the Stadio Olimpico was a 2-2 draw in August 2024.

After their successes against Cremonese and Inter, both without conceding a goal, Milan could register three consecutive Serie A wins without shipping a goal for the first time since September.

Lazio, meanwhile, won their last Serie A match against an opponent with more points in the table at the start of the day (2-1 v Sassuolo), following a run of seven consecutive such games without success (D2 L5).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Lazio – 25.6%

Draw – 26.5%

AC Milan – 47.9%