This behind-closed-doors encounter was severely undermined by an acute personnel crisis that forced the coaching staff into fielding a makeshift line-up across the pitch. The absence of ten players away on international duty was compounded by an extensive casualty list sidelining key figures such as Alex Meret, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Scott McTominay. That predicament left Allegri leaning on a small core of available first-teamers, including Amir Rrahmani and David Neres, before turning to Antonio Nocerino’s Primavera youth prospects after the break.
