GdS: Leao, Morata and defence – what Fonseca will rely on against Real Madrid

The big European night is upon us as AC Milan will take on Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, and they require a high-level performance to get a result.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, the Champions League is the elixir of a Real Madrid side who still feel wounded after the last game they played, a 4-0 defeat at home against Barcelona in El Clasico.

The Rossoneri cannot be intimidated but will have to be intelligent, because at the halfway point of the competition they know that today what is most important is performance and attitude, and showing they can go toe-to-toe with the biggest.

There’s no point beating around the bush, if Milan want to have a chance of overcoming the Real obstacle unscathed, they will have to offer a defensive performance bordering on perfection. In the first half against Monza on Saturday, they gave up chances Vinicius and Mbappè would take.

Paulo Fonseca is thinking of a tactical novelty with Yunus Musah on the right wing to better protect against Los Blancos’ more dangerous side. The American will take Samuel Chukwueze’s place and adopt a deeper position.

This will allow Theo Hernandez on the other side to move up a bit more. The offside trap is also important, one of the keys with which Barça beat Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but misusing a high line could be counter-productive.

Up front, Milan can only rely on Rafael Leao and Alvaro Morata. La Gazzetta dello Sport immediately raise the pressure on the Portuguese, underlining that he should be as decisive as Vinicius and have the impact without the ball like Jude Bellingham.

These are perhaps slightly excessive requests for a player with different characteristics. However, the winger will have try to take advantage of a great European night to show that he is capable of giving Fonseca what he wants.

Then there is the former Real man Morata, who has the experience and intelligence to be able to play these games and above all to surprise the centre-back pairing of Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger, who struggled with Robert Lewandowski.

There are also extra motivation for Alvaro, who left Spain also after the many criticisms (and personal abuse) that rained down on him in his homeland.