Rafael Leao continued his resurgence in form by scoring and getting several awards during the win over Red Star on Wednesday night.
In the 42nd minute, Milan got themselves in front and it was a quite simply brilliant goal from Leao. He made a run off the shoulder of the last man that was perfectly timed and found by Youssouf Fofana’s ball over the top.
The first touch settled the pass down and the second sent it into the roof of the net with his ‘weaker’ left foot. It is the kind of stroke of genius that you need when playing online pokies au too.
New recent role
The Italian media called on him to ‘be a star’ on the day of the game and he was. What is worth noting though is that just a few weeks ago he seemed to be in a very difficult patch of form, with Fonseca even benching him.
Leão’s last three goals have came from a more central position, almost as a second striker. Rafa today is looking for new areas of the pitch that have been unexplored until now, leaving the comfort zone of the open field out side.
Now, the former Lille man observes, studies and strikes with angling runs past the last line of defence. With Fonseca the relationship is frank and sincere: sometimes he does not agree with some choices but he has shown a new maturity in accepting that he must work hard.
For further signs of his leadership, after the game he admitted the team have to do better mentally and cannot lose focus the way they did. He wasn’t in a position to call that out a couple of months ago but now he can hold others to his own higher standard.
Continuing a good run
Milan secured an important victory over Red Star and the Portuguese delivered an excellent performance. As mentioned, his goal in the 42nd minute opened the scoring, setting the tone for the Rossoneri.
Leão’s performance was marked by high-class plays and decisive moments. His goal, a powerful and precise left-footed shot, caught the opposition goalkeeper off guard, giving Milan the lead. Throughout the match, Leão continued to pose a constant threat to the opposition defense.
Leão’s statistics: 1 goal, 3 dribbles, 2 shots on target, 2 one-two passes and 28 completed passes. With 90 minutes played, Rafa once again proved to be a key player for Fonseca’s team.
With 55% of the vote, Leão was chosen as MVP by fans on the AC Milan Official App, beating out Abraham, Fofana and Gabbia. He was also given the official Champions League Player of the Match trophy too.
