Many noticed that instead of doing his celebration last night, Rafael Leao ran over to someone on the bench after AC Milan’s equaliser, and the reason why has been revealed.
There may have been some confusion when Leao did not do his signature celebration after his equaliser. If he had picked up the ball, it may have been different, but instead, he ran off the pitch and towards the bench.
Fofana in mind
As MilanNews writes, Leao dedicated the goal to Fofana, who was subbed off at half-time after a very underwhelming first half, highlighted by that miss in front of an open goal. As a result, his mental state slipped, and this is why both the Portuguese and Christian Pulisic aided him through the rest of the first period.
InsideMilan on X, as seen below, have uploaded the video showing his touching celebration, if you wish to see it again.
3 goals in his last 4 matches for Rafael Leao 🏄♂️
then runs straight to Fofana 🥹 pic.twitter.com/cFQ5NgWEou
— Inside Milan (@_InsideMilan) January 9, 2026
He should run to modric, pulisic or rabiot. They run the whole game..😉
Haahhaa so they ran to him because he’s a sensitive little boy? Sell now.
He should run to get the ball and try and win the game. Never mind showboating. That’s not a leader. Just sell him already. He’s talented, but has been at Milan for sometime now and still shows immaturity and lack of leadership.
Rubbish. A starter has a terrible game, confidence shattered, and Leao immediately notices this and tries to give a gesture saying WE are still with you…you are still part of US, and you think this isn’t leadership? He ran right back to position after celebrating. Get real.