A year ago, AC Milan prevailed 2-0 against Juventus at San Siro after goals from Fikayo Tomori and Brahim Diaz. The latter was the star of the game, but tonight the focus will be on Rafael Leao.
As highlighted by today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (see photo below), Stefano Pioli decided to field Diaz as a right winger in the 2-0 win. The Spaniard ended up being a key player, scoring the second goal after a lovely solo run and confusing the Juve defence with his movement throughout the game.
Tonight, Pioli will not be able to use Diaz but will instead rely on the new No.10, Rafael Leao, to break the lines. As opposed to the Spaniard, however, the Portuguese winger will not cut inside as much, focusing on his dribbling in 1v1s instead.
Just like Diaz, Leao is given a lot of freedom by Pioli and this allows him to end up in 1v1 situations often, which is where Milan want him. Given that Christian Pulisic has been in great form on the opposite flank, Leao will surely get more space this time out too.
