Massimiliano Allegri will once again change formation for the game in Hellas Verona, but one thing will remain: Rafael Leao as a striker.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, Milan’s assault on the Champions League begins with Leo. Despite the loud boos at San Siro and the return to a 3-5-2, Massimiliano Allegri intends to keep him as a centre-forward in Verona as well.
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It is a stadium where the Portuguese has always won with Milan, but has never scored. Of course, the taboo ignores other details, like the two assists he provided for Sandro Tonali on the evening of May 8 in the comeback during the Scudetto season.
Fast-forward to now, and the Leao of 2025-26 is in a peculiar situation. On the one hand, it’s his most prolific season in Italy in terms of goals scored/minutes played: 10 goals in 26 appearances and 1,686 minutes.
On the other, between recurring physical problems and difficulties in a role that isn’t truly his, he’s never been so often the target of criticism. The jeers at San Siro when he came off on Saturday wasn’t the first – it also happened last season – but the loudest so far.
Yet, Adrien Rabiot has publicly defended his team-mate and urged fans to support Rafa. This appeal is evidently shared by Allegri, who will continue to rely on his top scorer in Serie A. Indeed, despite everything, Leao is still AC Milan’s top scorer in the league.
Rafa’s redemption
Rafael Leao’s last goal dates back to March 1st, now a month and a half ago during the 2-0 win against Cremonese, in stoppage time on an assist from Christopher Nkunku, after missing a couple of huge chances in front of Audero.
From then on, Rafa struggled greatly, between disappointing results and torment caused by groin pain. Not even a trip to Portugal to see a trusted trainer during the international break seemed to have helped him.
The low point against Udinese was his. From here, Leao can only build on his progress, and Allegri himself is the first to believe it. The coach expects to see a different team and a different Rafa, in Verona.
He wants to see a team similar to the one that held its own against Inter in the first half of the season and less in line with its ‘ugly’ twin in the second half. Speaking of which, since the halfway point, Milan have 21 points, the same as Roma but fewer than Inter, Napoli, Atalanta, Como, Juventus and even Fiorentina.
Tale of two halves
Without an (immediate) turnaround, qualification for next season’s Champions League (the stated objective from the start) will be seriously jeopardised. What has changed compared to a few months ago? First of all, Milan have scored less: just 15 goals in the 13 round of the second half.
The data becomes even more worrying if we limit ourselves to matches with Leao as a starter: six goals in eight games, less than one per match. Put like that, the question naturally arises: why persist with Rafa, especially as a centre-forward?
Allegri is a man who pays attention to numbers, but is even more skilled at reading moments and moods. Perhaps he’s hoping for a reaction of pride, and he’s already seen something of that in the last two days at Milanello.
Christian Pulisic will be there alongside him. Captain America hasn’t scored since December 28th. This summer, fans dreamed of their star duo, Le-Pu as a counter to Inter’s Thu-La (Thuram-Lautaro). They saw very little of them in the first half of the season due to injuries.
The duo have been seen much more often in the second part of the camaign, but never at their best. So, instead of being the accelerant in the Scudetto race, the Leao-Pulisic duo has almost become a handbrake. At least until now.
However, there are six rounds to prove statistics and critics wrong. Allegri is asking them to score goals for the Champions League, before seeing them both at the World Cup. Then what about the future? We’ll know in July and August.
Why would Allegri stubbornly use Leao as a striker can only mean one thing. Maybe his inflammation is persistent and his biggest asset speed is affected. Which leaves him with 2 choices, make him adapt to a striker role or drop him entirely using him in bitpart roles. I dont think a clever coach will keep repeating the same thing and get no result. But he also knows that giving him a bitpart role will erode the last bit of fire that’s still left in him. Damned if you do damned if you dont
Or maybe Nkunku and Gimenez are even worse options in Allegri’s mind. Therefore Leao is the only option, no matter how lackluster as a striker.
Of course Allegri knows like everyone does that Leao will never be a number nine. On a good day he might be the best left wing in Serie A but unfortunately Allegri can’t play any formation with wingers. And that is because the team is built without a sense of the whole by the club.
This is beyond ridiculous!
In a 3-5-2, the only course of action for the remaining games is to play a fully fit CF (Giminez) with Puli as SS. Leao can go on the bench before he erodes his resale value any further…
How do you know he is fit? He got fully fit in a single month after being out for almost 6 months? In which universe? You obviously didn’t do any sports even remotely serious.
Save your comments – you obviously watch nothing..
None of our forwards, real ones or makeshift ones, have scored in the last two months, so why would they suddenly start now? Maybe a burst of pride, a wake‑up call, a bit of guilt… what’s supposed to change them?
Sure, Allegri has nothing else to work with and has to make do with what he’s got, but keeping Leão involved is basically mocking his teammates, the club, and the fans.
Leão took himself out of Milan with his own actions, and not just recently.
We can go and on, he is still the highest goal scorer and I will play him as a striker over all the others, He is still the best among the rest despite the injury and playing out of position, by number of goals he towers above the rest. We have seen Gimenez potential, Nkunku and the most useless Fulkrug. with a proper midfield with vision our forwards can excel, but the coach is defensively minded than attacking, we all knows why
What is that definition of insanity again???
Leao is a failed experiment and offers nothing at 9, especially since ’26. No point in trying to jam him there game after game. CL is important. Bench him. Try your luck with Puli and a rotation of Santi and Nkunku.