Some more details have emerged regarding what led to Rafael Leao’s furious reaction after being taken off against Lazio.
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In the 67th minute of the defeat to Lazio last night, Leao became very irritated, having resisted the coach’s decision to substitute him. The Portuguese was already very unhappy with Christian Pulisic, who failed to find his runs in behind on a couple of occasions, and took it out on Massimiliano Allegri.
As Allegri tried to hug Leao, he was shoved away by the forward, before trying again. Even Mike Maignan had to come over and try to cool the former Lille man down, but without much success.
It is not the first time that Rafa has been at the centre of an incident at this stadium, with the ‘cooling break saga’ last season happening at the Olimpico too and against Lazio.
Why Leao was angry
Tommaso Turci spoke live on DAZN (via MilanNews) after the match, and he reconstructed what exactly went on.
“In the first half, he was called back by Allegri’s staff: by Landucci, but also by Magnanelli and Corradi several times. They wanted something more, especially in terms of energy. In the second half, Leao came on better, but neither he nor Pulisic were certainly shining,” he said.
“The chance that infuriated Leao was when there was space to run vertically and Pulisic didn’t pass him: Leao got very angry and told him to go to hell. The fact that he didn’t play many balls meant that this nervousness increased minute by minute. In the 67th minute, Allegri decided to substitute Leao.
“I’ll tell you a story behind the scenes: at first he didn’t want to take Leao off and thought about taking Pulisic off. Then he went to Landucci and chose to take Leao off. As he was leaving, Maignan also approached.
“Leao then explained to Allegri: ‘He didn’t give me the ball, he didn’t give me the ball’. And then he also told him to go to hell, he got angry about the substitution. He sat on the bench with Mazzoni, who tried to give him a high five.
“Leao started by throwing his jacket, kicked the icebox and even the water bottle. A very nervous Leao who wanted to make a different impact. He was angry with everyone: Pulisic, Allegri, probably even himself.”