Stefano Pioli would like to see more goals from Rafael Leao as the season goes on and a plan is being concocted to get the Portuguese forward closer to the goal during each game.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, some of Leao’s play has become predictable and often does not end with a shot on goal, either from him or a teammate.
Is common to see him beat the defender on the wing, reach the byline and then cut back and play a pass, often after some hesitation. Pioli would like to see him direct those runs into the box and, quite simply, get closer to the goal with the ball.
They point out that Kylian Mbappe and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who play in the same position as Leao and will be his next opponents, average 4.9 and 4.2 shots per game respectively. Leao averages 1.9.
Mbappe has 11.4 touches per game in the box, and Kvaratskhelia has 9. Leao has just 7.4. He does put in more crosses than the PSG and Napoli players, but Pioli wants to see him operate more inside the box.
Basically, the plan is that Leao does it all himself? 🤣😂 After some games where he should have 3-4 assists but the rest didn’t score, I have to agree.
Well… I guess it’s better to get a shot by Leao than him scattering his crosses to no-man’s-land. He got only one pass to teammates inside the box against Juve (that Giroud shot that was miraculously saved) and that’s about it. Not helping the team to score with inaccurate crosses.
I’d like to see leao in an attacking tandem. With his talent and skillz he should excel there.
License to roam so he isn’t “stuck” on lw.
Good luck.
Leao isn’t a goalscorer and he is allergic to the penalty box.
Pioli should switch leao to the right wing.
The point of an inverted winger is to cut inside on his strong foot so he can take a shot. Leao can’t shoot. Move him on the right so he can play as a classic winger whose job will be just to send crosses. His crosses aren’t great but they are still much better than his awful shooting.
I agree, he plays too far away from the 18 yard box . He needs to be closer to the box where he can cut in and shot.
so the plan is, play him out of position… inspired!..
Those stats are telling.
His crosses are hit and miss though. It can be great and at frustrating to see them being skied