Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao are considered by many to be the best left side combination in all of Europe, but there is a risk of that word ‘are’ becoming ‘were’.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport talks about the famous ‘Theao’ and asks some questions about the duo given they do not seem to be at their usual high levels: When will Theao return? What happened to them?
Theo and Leao were the opponents’ nightmare for a long time with sensational bursts of speed, dribbling, overlaps and tactical variations (above all Theo’s varied positioning). Leao was the champion of the future who was growing month after month, Theo was a defender with numbers almost like a forward.
In short, they were a spectacle, but now a faded copy of that ‘Theao’ combination seems to go onto the field each game. There are multiple reasons for this, and the tactical point mainly concerns Theo who no longer seems to dart infield as he did with the midfield more crowded.
Then there are ‘contextual explanations’: this year’s Milan appears less ferocious, less hungry, less organised. Of course it is reasonable to expect personality and effectiveness from high-level players with Theo and Rafa, it is equally true that the general situation of the team does not help.
There have been too many games with tactical misunderstandings, too many games in which the malice was missing. The paper adds that both were very, very close to the figure of Paolo Maldini, something which should not be ignored.
The signs on the pitch paint a worrying picture; Theo celebrated without smiling after scoring against Fiorentina, then Leao spent a good part of the match against Salernitana complaining about everything. These are just two examples, but there are others.
The numbers of their four and a half seasons paint the picture well. Theo, for example, dropped from 3.07 touches in the opponent’s box in 2020-21 to 1.96 in the current season; from 2.17 completed dribbles (2020-21) to 0.85; from 0.61 shots on target (2019-20) to 0.35; and from 252.53 metres dribbled in 2020-21 to 197 in the current year.
However, looking at the number of times he was dribbled against the trend goes against the trend: in the first year he averaged 0.67 per game, now it is 0.3. From this point of view he has learned to defend better.
As for Leao, compared to last season the touches in the opponent’s area are better (6.42 versus 5.83) and the chances created (2.14 versus 1.73), a sign that Rafa is learning to attack the area more effectively.
Despite this, his dribbles completed have dropped from 3.54 (2021-22) to 2.77, total shots from 3.12 (2022-23) to 2.27 and distance dribbled from 231.69 (2021-22) to 222.27. It is therefore up to the coach, among other tasks, to find a way to give ‘Theao’ gas again.
