It would be fair to say that the year of 2023 has not been kind so far to Rafael Leao and the reasons for his decline are not necessarily obvious.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Leao has now gone two months without a goal and some believe the reason behind that is tactical. Since Stefano Pioli changed formation to a 3-4-2-1, the Portuguese winger has been playing more centrally rather than as a pure winger and that is a different role entirely.
It seems that the former Lille man is struggling a bit to adapt to a new position on the field where he is forced to move in traffic and finds less space. While he and Stefano Pioli have both said that he suits the role, it is not one that he has played for much of his career and especially not with the Rossoneri.
Journalist Franco Ordine spoke during his weekly column for MilanNews and as part of it he addressed the current struggles that Leao is enduring, questioning the reasons behind it.
“Speaking of Leao, perhaps it is appropriate to go into specifics and ask oneself whether the responsibility for this sudden and long decline of the Portuguese is not really to be related to the change of formation,” he began.
“Pioli said so on more than one occasion when questioned, Rafa replied that he agreed and he had covered that role in the past. Then what’s wrong?
“If the question is the contract, then the knot must be untied immediately and the matter clarified because the Portuguese will not be the first nor the last not to renew.”
