When Rafael Leao swept AC Milan into the lead against Atalanta last night it looked like being a potential breakout for him, but it ended up being a strange evening.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, Leao is back to surfing but he could not prevent Milan from finding themselves in troubled waters. The winger’s goal lit up the night of the Coppa Italia clash, before darkness fell.
Leao was not enough for Milan and one goal cannot be enough for Leao so as not to share the responsibility for the defeat. He illuminated the San Siro with the opening goal but faded away just as soon as his left-side runs were almost always stopped by Holm or Scalvini.
After yet another difficult night he returned to the mood that has characterised him in the last period (with the exception of a few smiles against Sassuolo and Empoli): nervous and polemical.
He remonstrated with the referee Di Bello, by whom he was booked for protests, and with his team-mates. The Portuguese often stood with his arms wide open after the mistakes of others, as if to say he was disinterested.
Leao’s attempts at crosses or passes into the area were often imprecise, and his participation in the game was always partial. If this is his jewel, it is difficult for Milan to shine again.
Yet the evening had opened with other indications. Less than a minute before the break, Pioli had found his left lane again: Theo Hernandez and Leao had carried out a break at full speed which ended with the assist from Theo and a lovely finish from the former Lille man.
In less than two minutes Atalanta beat Mike Maignan for the equaliser. The mood was contrasting: Leao followed his right-foot shot inside the far post with a run and then spread out the surfboard on the San Siro pitch and rode the waves with the Curva Sud.
Rafa then pointed his index finger towards the fans, as a sign of special dedication, and it was reciprocated with the chant bearing his name. Technique, speed, chemistry – the left wing combination seemed to have started working again.
It seemed like the perfect evening to establish a new union. Instead, Rafa and Theo disconnected again, and Milan found themselves in a tailspin. Thus Leao and the team end up once again in the sights of the fans after the disappointment of the cup.
At the end of the game Leao was also under the Curva with his team-mates. If before he had pointed the finger towards the Sud as a gesture of affection, now it is the fans who point the finger towards the team.
Yes leao surfing,that’s somes his evening up ..
Causing problems for moments then overdoes things .yes a wonderful goal ,,but his final delivery and his decision making poor ,,that said he is a very gifted and talented player ,and you just have to play him .
What concerns me is about the midfield,completely lacking in ideas …What gets me is the poor service that jovic ( and I am not a huge fan of his ) gets ,such poor service to him and indeed for Olivier Giroud when he plays …Olivier is such a huge talent ,,,believe me we still need him …what Olivier needs is decent service to him ,not just hopeful balls ⚽️ pumped in ,but decent deliveries,,if he has that he will score goals make no mistake about that ..
He must definitely start the next game ..I have got a feeling that Olivier will deliver and score another goal.
Some of you are not looking at his status 9 goals 6 assists,,that figure will I believe reach 20 goals ,not a bad return for a man 37 years of age ..
Never ever write him off ,certainly not this season .
So we have centre forward ,two included Jovic ,,but they must get decent deliveries into them ..
I cannot stress this point enough,,especially with Olivier Giroud whose heading ability is still world class .I still remain optimistic that we can finish the season on a high ..
Well he should have got an assist as well, not his fault. But something is wrong with you, you’re like a Giroud owned parrot.
It’s almost like one misses Suso these days. He at least had decent crosses. Leao and Pulisic are pretty horrible at crossing. Our best at crosses is Theo and then it’s Calabria. None of them are very consistent though.
Adli should be better att crossing into the box than he is. I don’t think he gets deep enough down the pitch to play good crosses. They come from back field and are easily swept away by the defence. The only player who consistently get down deep is Leao these days and his passing and crosses like I said are not good at all.
It would be nice to get a player for the right side who can actually do crosses well. But I guess those players are hard to find these days.