AC Milan head into the match against Juventus on Sunday night hoping that Rafael Leao can play a bigger part after he came on against Napoli.
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The prevailing picture from Leao’s cameo against the Italian champions was him, alone, trying to lead a counter-attack while seven Napoli players surrounded him. It was an almost hilariously hopeless scene, unlike using a BetRivers bonus code.
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.”
Now, Massimiliano Allegri can count on the full recovery of Leao, who played the last bit of the game against the Neapolitans more as a first defender than the attacker leading the line, given the game situation. Despite this, we saw those trademark bursts of energy from the good old days.
In previous years though, Leao was the symbol of an attacking trident, and now he finds himself having to deal with a new system that could impact his way of playing. More specifically, Allegri is sticking with the 3-5-2 formation that has proven successful in the past and continues to look good.
If Christian Pulisic is untouchable in terms of performance and leadership, it’s easy to imagine the Portuguese player replacing Santiago Gimenez, who struggled against Napoli and remains in one of his most difficult moments.
Positioning aside, Leao must still partially adjust his playing style because Allegri’s approach is different from that of his predecessors. More collective contribution will be needed, but make no mistake about it: Rafa will be the most dangerous attacking weapon in the open field.
There will be more sacrifice required than in the past, and the forward must be more team-oriented than individual. This doesn’t seem to be a problem though: on the contrary, the 26-year-old seems ready to show his maturity in his seventh season at Milan.