With the international break soon to come to a close, attention turns back to AC Milan’s next league game against Venezia, and some news has arrived regarding Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning how Theo and Leao remain at the centre of the news related to Milan, whether it is regarding transfers during the window, if cooling breaks are involved or if it is with national teams.
A turbulent fortnight
Both players will start against Venezia on Saturday despite a turbulent past couple of weeks. A brief summary: they played from the first minute in Parma, with Theo perceived to be lacking intensity for both goals and Leao giving the ball away for the second.
The result was that Milan were beaten and some named them as the two main culprits for the defeat. What didn’t help is that it seemed to be more than just athletic condition or simply game errors, rather poor application and a lack of desire. For this reason, there were no excuses.
Paulo Fonseca made them sit on the bench from minute one at the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio, a technical choice he had previously informed the club about. At 2-1, they entered the field and a move down the left side provided the equaliser within two minutes.
However, it is after that that another key incident also took place: while the team were on a drinks break and listening to the coach’s latest instructions, Theo and Rafa remained on the other side of the field. The club tried to play it down, but naturally it dominated the headlines.
All is forgiven
Theo apologised, even if he wasn’t convinced that it needed apologising for, stating after the game: “We had been on for two minutes, we didn’t need the cooling break.” Fonseca threw more water on the fire and finally the CEO Giorgio Furlani declared the case closed as an internal matter.
We start again from this point, with Theo and Leao ready to be starters again. Once upon a time the ‘Theao’ was the symbol of the left flank that ran at full speed but today the pair are yet to remove the handbrake.
Their contribution on the field, beyond the errors and the incident in Rome, has so far been decidedly modest. For Leao three games played, two of which as a starter, a total of 200 minutes on the pitch with one goal and one assist.
Three games for Hernandez too, starting only in Parma (against Torino in round one he wasn’t fit): 140 minutes played, zero goals, zero assists. A similar performance in the national team then followed as well.
Rafa was replaced at half-time in the match against Croatia, and after just over an hour with Scotland: he did not score but fed a ball to Bruno Fernandes which was transformed into a goal. For Theo 90′ in the defeat against Italy and on the bench against Belgium.
Repaying the trust
Milan will need much more: Fonseca needs to find them in their best version. There are no clarification talks planned at Milanello, this time the need to let the pitch speak is more real than ever, against Venezia and even more so in the Champions League debut against Liverpool and in the derby.
With everything forgiven and forgotten, they must repay the trust. Rafa is the highest paid on the team in terms of net salary, then Theo comes next. Rafa has always said he wants to stay at the Rossoneri and is preparing for his new life as a parent of twins.
During the European Championships, Hernandez was less clear as he stated: “My future? We’ll see whether or not I stay at Milan.” It is true that in the summer no one actually stepped forward, while the club are planning talks to extend his deal expiring in June 2026.
If Theo then wants to attract the attention of other big clubs, he will still have to show what he can do, starting with the game against Venezia. Milan need to build momentum heading into a tough run of games, something they need ‘Theao’ to be able to do.
Lol…
It’s shame to say Theo have no contribution at all. He is involved both assist and goal of Leao. The question must be asked what other forward players and midfielders contributed to the team.
Playing Theo and Leao from the first minutes is the only life line for Fonseca.
Now is the time for Fonseca to prove his worth not for Theo or Leao.
As usual this article shows the level of Italian journalism.
The way Leão played for Portugal since the Lazio game…. It has given me hope, he shot more and tried to do his “magic” from the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons when he cooked every team. Tbf to Leão he didn’t score as much last year but still proved that he HAS to start same with Theo. Theo has proved that he has to start every game too. That Leão-Theo left flank is one of the best in the world, they both have excellent chemistry (You could easily see that against Lazio, that was a world class counter attack which lead to the Leão goal.)
A good showing wouldn’t be against the lowly Venezia. It would be against the likes of Inter and Liverpool, when the pressure mounts against strong players and tou have to respond.