GdS: 3 in 2, off after 45 minutes – Leao’s trend of unrelenting extremes continues

Rafael Leao went into the game against Atalanta full of confidence, but he exited after just 45 minutes of action.

To call it ‘action’ might be over-generous, because Leao was anonymous. As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Massimiliano Allegri revealed after the game that the forward was battling a hip problem, and he preferred to take him off because he never got into the rhythm of the game.

Other coaches would have left Leao on the pitch, giving him a quarter of an hour to start the second half purely because of his ability to create something from nothing. Allegri did not do that, because Atalanta is strong and battles need to be won across the pitch.

So, two considerations come to mind in the end. The first: Milan did better without Leao and Gimenez, with Nkunku and Loftus-Cheek up front. The second: the relationship between Allegri and Leao remains peculiar. A lot of respect, some criticism, goals and early substitutions, all in three months.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Leao enigma persists

Allegri’s full explanation to DAZN was as follows: “Leao trained after Pisa, but we needed players who could sprint, who could run. That’s why I replaced him. The injury? It shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Then a self-declared defence came: “The fact that Milan, with him in the starting line-up, conceded four goals in three games is a coincidence. There are times when you concede and others when you don’t.”

The numbers though cannot leave Max happy. Leao didn’t have a shot in those 45 minutes, made just six passes (one every seven and a half minutes), zero crossed and four turnovers. Leao’s season, then, as ever, is one of those unrelenting extremes.

Against Fiorentina, he scored twice and turned the game around, drawing plaudits for putting the team on his back. Against Pisa he scored and then somewhat vanished, and against Atalanta he never showed up at all.

In the stands, during the second half, he was photographed with his face hidden under a hood and a hat, as if he were at the North Pole. Allegri hopes that his smile, spirit and energy return against Roma.