Leao Cagliari

GdS: ‘New Leao, old mistakes’ – Cagliari trend repeats for Leao and Milan

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

In the past few months, Rafael Leao has been slightly transitioning from a stereotypical winger to a more central role, and AC Milan are not seeing consistent results.

The Leao debacle is a really difficult one to assess. A few years ago, he was projected to hit the top levels, and now, he still can, but whether he will is in his own hands. Since the 2022/23 season, most of the things about Leao have been about ‘re-finding’ him, rather than him progressing further, unfortunately.

Because of this, the two new coaches have had different ideas on how to bring about Leao 2.0. Paulo Fonseca initially tried to make him more all-rounded and focused on his work rate and defensive work. For Conceicao, the solution is making him more central to the team, literally.

However, this idea has stalled.

As Gazzetta dello Sport write, against Real Madrid, we saw one of the best versions of Leao. Then, in Riyadh, when the Portuguese entered the pitch, it was a similar story. After both games, the Rossoneri faced Cagliari, and in both games they, and more specifically Leao, struggled.

Given the events in Arabia and also Madrid, it is frustrating to see the drop in performance, however, this is the task for Conceicao, as it was for Fonseca and Stefano Pioli before him. How do you get the best of Leao consistently?

Tags AC Milan Rafael Leao

14 Comments

  1. Leao looked very much like a one-trick pony on Sat night. Yes, he was heavily and effectively marked by Cagliari, but he needs to use his speed and size to try to get THROUGH defences more, rather than always trying the same dance moves to skip around them.

  2. A debacle??? Really?
    So any game Leao doesn’t score or assist we are going to get this article?
    He wasn’t great against Cagliari but he was double marked most of the time. He’s been pretty damn good of late, NOBODY is decisive every match.

      1. I don’t know where the mystery is here. Leao needs space to run into as well as run way from defenders. A low block negates his effectiveness. There’s no space and nowhere to run. And our counters were to slow to catch Cagliari off guard.

        This is nothing new.

        1. Exactly. Against low block defenses Leao should move away from the left to the center and occasionally change places with the right winger during the match. Otherwise he will be doubled and buried on the left. Movement creates space.

      2. And he probably would’ve if he plays the ball when pulisic initially makes the run To the penalty spot. Instead He tried to dribble another defender and then Played pulisic into a tougher angle and chance to finish.

    1. Nobody is decisive every match?
      That’s true but Leao has 3 goals in serie A this season.
      Let’s not act like the games where Leao plays bad are few and far between. It’s actually the opposite. The games where he plays well are few and far between.
      Halfway thru the season he has 3 goals in 16 games.
      Saelemaekers in only 9 games has 4 goals.
      Milan sent the wrong winger on loan.

      1. He also is tied with Pulisic for team lead in assists and chances created. And also has 2 goals and an assist in Champions League play.
        His decision making can improve for sure, but please don’t ever compare him to Saleamakers, it ruins any argument you may have had. Saleamakers 4 goals is a career high for him . I think he averaged 2 a year for us when he was our starter. Messias was an upgrade on him.

        1. He might be tied with Pulisic for assists but the last time they showed the stats about chance created during the Cagliari game he was about 10 behind Pulisic on the season.
          Leao is on pace to have 6g and 8 assists season in serie A this year. 👏👏👏
          Don’t care about the averages from previous season, i am talking about this year. But if you include the previous seasons it paints a picture that Saelemaekers is improving and Leao regressing significantly.
          Saelemaekers in 9 games has 5 goal contributions, Leao has 7 in 16 games.
          You see, the comparison with Saelemaekers isn’t that far off. Saelemaekers based on games played averages higher goal contributions than Leao this season in serie A.
          Keep the same energy that you have for Theo for Leao as well. Leao hasn’t been any better than Theo this year and he also “as you say” sabotaged Fonseca.

    2. Even considering the double marking he was pretty bad in the Cagliari match and perhaps one of the worst players on the field.
      He was pretty clumsy and uncoordinate especially towards the end of the game where his crosses went anywhere but to our players and where he started shooting from every position towards the audience.
      Overall this season, he’s had more bad games than good games.

  3. Selling Leao is part of the renewal of tactics for Milan. Leao is inconvenience to other tactics as he isn’t too keen to try many roles other than his 1 trick down the left.

    Milan needs to find some other workhorse that can consistently deliver.

    Switch to 442 or 4312 which is MILAN DNA

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