Milan chase an absent record against Atalanta: Rabiot eyes a historic achievement
Intriguing contrasts ahead of the clash
AC Milan are the Milan side looking to overcome a historic hurdle when they face Atalanta tomorrow, Sunday, in the seventh round of Serie A.
Statistics specialists Opta report that Milan have failed to win any of their last six Serie A meetings with Atalanta, drawing twice and losing four times.
Only once have the Rossoneri gone longer without beating Atalanta in the top flight: a seven-match spell between November 2015 and September 2018 that brought five draws and two defeats.
Across the whole history of Serie A, Atalanta have drawn 47 times with Juventus and 46 times with Milan.
The Rossoneri have won 55 of those meetings with Atalanta. Atalanta have won 29.
Atalanta arrive having won their last two league trips to Milan. They have managed three straight away wins over the Rossoneri just once, between March 1941 and March 1943.
Six games in, Milan are still unbeaten this season, with three wins and three draws. The last time they went seven without defeat at the start of a Serie A campaign was 2021-2022, when they won six and drew one.
Wins over Venezia (2-0) and Lecce (3-0) mean Milan can now put together three home league victories in a row for the first time in 2026.
Their last run of three straight home wins without conceding came between September and October 2024, against Venezia, Lecce and Udinese.
Atalanta, by contrast, have lost their last two on the road, 1-2 at Roma and 2-0 at Juventus.
Defeat tomorrow would give them three consecutive away losses under the same manager for the first time since October and November 2017, when Gian Piero Gasperini's side went down 1-3 at Sampdoria, 1-2 at Udinese and then 2-0 to Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Set pieces are the shared weakness. Milan and Atalanta top the Serie A charts for the highest percentage of goals conceded from dead balls in 2026-2027, Milan having shipped three of their five that way, a rate of 60%, including Kass Odental's goal in the last round against Sassuolo. Atalanta have conceded four of their eight from set pieces, a rate of 50%.
Ruben Amorim can become only the third manager in Milan's Serie A history to go unbeaten in his first seven games in charge.
Three wins and three draws is his record so far. Hector Puricelli managed the feat in 1955 with three wins and four draws, and Luis Carniglia followed in 1963 with four wins and three draws.
An assist against Lazio, then goals against Lecce and Sassuolo: Adrien Rabiot can now score or assist in four straight matches for the first time in his career in Europe's top five leagues.
Hakan Calhanoglu was the last Milan midfielder to do it in Serie A, back in December 2020. He assisted against Parma, Genoa and Sassuolo, then scored once and set up two more against Lazio.
Nikola Krstovic had a hand in all three Atalanta goals in their last league outing against Venezia, scoring twice and providing an assist. That matched his entire output from the previous 11 matches in the competition.
Born in 2000, the striker has contributed more than one goal in back-to-back Serie A games only once before, in September 2025, when he laid on two against Lecce and then scored twice against Torino.
