Rafael Leao has revealed that his substitute appearance against Napoli on Sunday left him a bit short of breath.
Leao was probably not meant to play as long as he did having spent over a month out, but he came on to help close out an eventual 2-1 victory over the Italian champions. The scene of the Portuguese leading a 1v7 counter-attack has gone viral online, and it certainly took energy out of him.
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Speaking on a Twitch stream – in which he also praised the Milan fans for their support – Leao spoke about the demands of that cameo off the bench.
“I came back after a month and this match against Napoli was tough: in terms of my breathing, with ten men… This ball came from a counter-attack, I tried to do something but I didn’t realise there were so many players.
“I saw Gutierrez and the other one near him. I had no idea it was seven against one. I already took a screenshot in my gallery. I have to keep training, in terms of my breathing: don’t worry.”
🗣🇵🇹 | Rafael Leão on the 1v7 situation against Napoli:
“I saw the defender Gutiérrez and another one next to him, but I had no idea it was 7 against 1. I even took a screenshot, it’s in my gallery.” 😭pic.twitter.com/GOvCROKzmH
— Milan Xtra (@MilanXtra) September 30, 2025
In reality it was leao against the last man and I was hoping he was going to burn him up but he missed the moment and got crowded out once it got stuck under his feet. Would have been incredible if he got through
Even with video evidence, you are still distorting the truth, He singlehandedly drew 7 players on him, it’s no fluke a coach of Conte’s caliber deployed as much men as possible on him, cos 3-4 might not be enough to stop him even when half fit. Thats how big of a player he is and how much damage he can cause.
And that’s exactly why you bring him on when you’re down a man. He equalizes the game on his own because you don’t dare mark him with just one player.
say no more @Flosonero, He is the arrow head for a purpose as clearly stated by Allegri, He is always a danger even when half fit, yet some section of the fans and online coaches talk about lazy, 7 players wouldn’t all mark a lazy player
Is he streaming from his closet and does he have enough shoes?
How on Earth does he get dressed in the morning, must take an age to sort through his footwear options.
I have 15 pairs of doc martens. So i can relate to someone loving shoes.
Napoli absolutely panicked when Leao went on, even barely at half fitness. It took enough pressure off our defense. Allegri knows what he’s doing.
Don’t forget the goal keeper. So, it was actually 8 players trying to stop Leao! What a great moment.