It would be fair to say that Rafael Leao did not have the best of nights on Thursday during the defeat against Roma, but the response yesterday was outstanding.
As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) points out, the fact that Leao left the field to jeers – whether they were for him or for the decision to take him off – during Thursday’s game made a lot of noise.
The Portuguese did not provide the performance that everyone expected, probably by his own admission. Stefano Pioli, probably also to test a reaction from him, started him again yesterday against Sassuolo despite the otherwise large rotation.
The response was a leader-like performance. Leao first scored a beautiful goal after getting through two opponents and finishing, while he also had a big hand in Luka Jovic’s goal to make it 3-2 with his outside of the boot cross.
There were many other good moments and above all a leader’s attitude on display from the winger, but the real test will be on Thursday at the Olimpico where he will have to drag Milan into the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Pioli kept him on the pitch for the whole match yesterday, and explained his decision: “He couldn’t have been tired because he had never entered the match against Roma, the numbers say so, so he had the desire and need to play, plus he’s certainly not someone who struggles to recover.
“In the 70th minute I asked both him and Theo how they were, they both replied that they could continue on the pitch only positive, the more they play the better they feel.”
There are many expectations surrounding Leao, and Pioli’s advice is as follows: “He must learn to manage this type of pressure, these expectations. He has a talent superior to others, so when he is unable to put it on the pitch we talk about him.
“In our environment compliments and criticisms are often exaggerated, he must know that it will be like this for his entire career.”
