Rafael Leao has not scored a goal in over a month and the pressure is on to end that drought as quickly as possible, starting tonight against Udinese.
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This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recalls that Leao hasn’t scored since September 23rd, when he had the captain’s armband and the Rossoneri beat Verona 1-0 at San Siro.
The Portuguese winger scored the winning goal in that game and looked at the world with a big smile, but since then he has not been at his best and he has faced a lot of criticism from fans and sections of the media.
To try and get him going again, Stefano Pioli will play with two strikers in the area against Udinese tonight which will hopefully leave Leao free to run down the flanks and exploit the space left.
Leao’s season has been complicated so far and perhaps he should have been imagined. In the summer, he stopped being a boy and definitively became a man given that he is now 24, is the highest paid player in the team after his renewal and has the iconic No.10 shirt.
In July while on the tour of the United States the former Lille man said he felt like a leader, that he was ready to score 20 goals and talk more in the dressing room, even that he wanted to become a father too.
Leao started the campaign strongly: he was excellent against Torino and at the beginning of September he scored at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma. That day Milan first dominated, then beat Jose Mourinho’s side, and all of Italy began to think about the Scudetto being red and black again.
However, Rafa suddenly became the subject of discussion in mid-September, a man at the centre of criticism. Against Inter he combined a goal in the derby with a low rating a very rare combination, then against Newcastle he attempted a back-heel which drew a lot of scrutiny.
The goal scored against Verona and the two assists against Lazio were a happy parenthesis, before the tension returned. After the bad night in Paris, Arrigo Sacchi became the leader of the opposition, stating: “He wouldn’t be a starter under me.”
Against Napoli there was the controversy with Pioli over the early substitution and it was as if Rafa had to deal with the pressure of expectations for the first time. He has to lead Milan, with a father who is pressing him over financial issues (the change of agent) and a contract worth €7m net per season.
Leao uploaded photos of three former Milan strikers yesterday on Instagram. He left Weah and Van Basten alone and chose Ibra and Pato, modern icons. For the third photo he went for Balotelli, despite the debates. Tonight, for equal reasons, he must play a match like Mbappé.
