AC Milan return to action tonight and take on the table-toppers Napoli at San Siro, but they will do so without Rafael Leao from minute one.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, Napoli arrive with an eight-point advantage over the Rossoneri, also due to the match that was postponed over the weekend against Bologna.
After the wins against Udinese and Club Brugge that have come since the international break the key is to become more consistent for Milan. A shock bit of news has emerged though: Paulo Fonseca should opt once again to put Rafael Leao on the bench from the start.
The paper coined a new term: ‘Leaout’. The winger will be excluded from the starting XI again this evening, in such an important match for Milan against a rival that they have faced a lot in recent years, and who Leao has done well against.
Yesterday, Fonseca immediately wanted to specify – while not revealing his choices – that Leao’s exclusions are not punishments but simple technical choices.
“Rafa has worked well as always and it is not a problem, nor a coincidence. We are sure that he will soon return to show what we expect from him,” he said.
Now everything is in the hands of the player: it will be up to him, with the time that is granted to him, to take back his spot. For the moment, Fonseca trusts Okafor and Chukwueze more, and they will get the nod tonight.
Leao is an asset to the Diavolo and that is why the club does not want to give up on him. In recent days Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke to Rafa, almost like an older brother, so now the management want him to be more active on the pitch and in the defensive phase.
In the meantime, Fonseca will have to deal with other selection issues. Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders are suspended,while Matteo Gabbia, Tammy Abraham and Luka Jovic are injured.
Finally, a coach with a spine. Love this
Exactly. No more sucking up to players. Improve your attitude or watch others play.
What did Leao do exactly to deserve a punishment? 1 goal, 4 assists in 7 games in what is apparently a struggling season for him is way better than 1 goal in 7 games from Okafor.
Seems like Fonseca is trying to find a scapegoat other than himself. Benching a Serie A MVP because you’re not able to use him well… What a waste of time and energy this Milan team is for the top players.
Leao hasn’t been close to an mvp since two seasons ago, okafor also has less game time, and Leaos head obviously hasn’t been in it this year. He needs to learn tough love, his lack of motivation has been way to noticeable this year, we need him and this is the last step to try to bring him back to the levels we know he can play at.
11 goals and 10 assists in Serie A 34 games when he was elected league MVP. 9 goals and 10 assists in 34 Serie A games last season. Seems pretty close to me. There is a reason why Leao was considered as one of the best wingers in Europe not long ago while Okafor was barely playing from start and dropped from his national team. There’s a big difference between playing from the start and entering the pitch late in the game when defenders are tired. Okafor is good as a 12th man in that duty but he’s always been poor when starting.
But maybe Paulo Fonseca the legendary coach with his huge past of coaching legendary players and winning major trophies is just not up to the task. And the management seems content to waste time and players that way.
If he wanted a scapegoat he’d play him not bench. If the team performs poorly against Napoli then it’s on Fonseca
Offensive part of the game is not an issue it’s defense. He has a lot of issues when we are defending and good teams will exploit that. He doesn’t run, he jogs. You have to fight and kick nowadays or you will lose.
“What did Leao do exactly to deserve a punishment?”
You REALLY don’t understand sports, now do you? It’s about who’s IN FORM. Leao isn’t. Okafor is. Sure, Leao has massive one goal and 4 assists this season. How his stats from the last 4 rounds? Not that pretty.
Punishment? Nope. Far from it. It’s about who deserves to play. Nothing to do with punishment.
I think I understand sport enough to write for over a year that this management is lousy. So many bad decisions leading to this situation, including the worst choice possible at the coach position.
Those things have nothing to do with an out-of-form player being replaced by a player with better form.
It’s a measure of a man to come back from these pressures. Milan needs a team ethic and Leao this season has sought to try and go against what the coach wants. If the coach fails then sobeit, but Leao needs to put his personal issues to one side and seize the moment. No-one can help him here, he has to return to the player we had in the Scudetto season, or he will be on his way to the exit..
Win or lose this the right decision by Fonseca. Okafor and Chukwueze are both in good form and they have earned their starting spot in the team.
Leao lacks tactical awareness and discipline. His attitude is also really bad and he’s constantly sulking. He needs to work harder to regain his spot in the starting lineup.
Leao is not a superstar and he’s not on the level of a top player.
The best decision ever, to drop Leap to the bench, reasons been that, with Leao we don’t really play as a team, football is about covering spaces, opening spaces and playing for each other, Leao doesn’t guarantee this, though,he could give some spectacular stellar runs, but on the long run he is a deficit to the team on overall basis. He needs to up his game. Against a balanced team like Napoli we need play as a team. Hence, l fully support starting Okafor for defensive coverage and equilibrium within the team.
Tonight we will know if it was a brave decision or a stupid one.
Okafor might have contributed slightly more than Leao lately, but he is not Pulisic either and whatever one might say, his ceiling is lower than Leao’s. An in-form focused Leao is way ahead of whatever version of Okafor we’ve seen so far.
I think the decision to bench Leao is more tactical rather than it being some sort of a sanction. Outside of the Parma/Lazio thing, Leao didn’t misbehave. Yes, he was lazy and his performances were subpar, but that’s not really something you’d sanction a player for. I think Fonseca trusts Okafor a bit more especially with the defensive duties.
If we manage to beat Napoli with Okafor, that will probably mean Leao is no longer a key player and might become a superb bencher or get sold next summer. But that’s just my take.
It’s a real thin line between brave and foolish. I guess we’ll see. I would start Leao and bring Okafor off the bench as has been working so far. I could be wrong but I don’t think Leao is the type to come off the bench and save you after you have benched him.
SO many hindsight warriors here…
If Milan win “Fonseca is a genius!”
If Milan lose “Fonseca is an !d!0t”
All this may be is a tactical adjustment if Fonseca plans on hunkering down deep with players who will play behind the ball, press and constantly run.
Leao’s body language is irrelevant – he plays with his heart on his sleeve and isn’t emotionally mature yet. Yet so many body language analysts here.
This thing we have about comparing players to other players… needs to stop. If you’re expecting Leao to contribute like Vini, maybe you’re mad. Leao will never be a Vini …
He is what he is and that’s why he’s at Milan and not at City or Real. Yet every year fans call for him to change …
I like the change!!! We will have more defensive play off the ball with Okafor starting.
Not so concerned with the choice of the coach, all what Milan fans at this material time need is just 3 points. Leao or Okafor we’re just in dire need of a win against Napoli.
Fonesca out…