Allegri praises ‘extraordinary’ Leao and team effort vs. Liverpool: “A proactive attitude”

After the 4-2 win against Liverpool, Massimiliano Allegri stated that AC Milan have significantly raised the bar, and he also made sure to praise Rafael Leao for his contributions. 

Milan headed into today’s game with the desire to show more than they did in the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday. It’s safe to say that they succeeded, finding the back of the net four times against Liverpool in Hong Kong.

Rafael Leao bagged the opening goal, assisted the second one (scored by Ruben Loftus-Cheek) and helped set up Noah Okafor’s third goal. It was no surprise that we named him the MOTM of the game, as such, but several players impressed.

Allegri’s reaction

Speaking at the press conference after the game, as transcribed by MilanNews, Allegri praised the team for raising the bar of the performance. He also highlighted that Leao could have a very important season ahead.

What’s your impression of the performance?

“Leao played very well as a centre-forward, and the whole team played well in general. The players have been working hard this pre-season.”

How was your experience in Hong Kong?

“It was a wonderful evening, there were 50,000 fans in the stadium. It was a great match, the stadium is a wonderful facility, and we’re happy to have played here.”

What aspect of the team’s performance did you like the most? What’s your take on Leao as a centre-forward? It might not be his role, but he had a great game…

“The best and most important thing I’m happy about in these first 20 days of training is that the team has a proactive attitude. They have significantly raised the level of suffering, and this means that when we have the ball, we try to play.

“And when we don’t, we all work together, we defend very well as a team. As for Leao, he’s a strong player, he has extraordinary qualities. I think he’s growing, he’s at the right age to have a strong season.”