GdS: ‘A devil’s duo’ – why Pulisic and Leao being reunited vs. Torino is great news for Allegri

Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic will be back up front together on Monday night as AC Milan make the trip to face Torino.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning, Leao and Pulisic are the front two that Massimiliano Allegri saw as his first choices from day one of preseason, but they have only started one other league game together.

They are the Rossoneri’s top scorers, with 10 goals evenly split, and among the top seven in the league, their goals have the greatest impact on the overall attacking output. Leao got an early-season injury, and then when he returned Pulisic sustained an issue, forcing Allegri to change his plans.

United again

Between one setback and another, the attacking puzzle only came together in the big match against Inter. Of the Rossoneri’s 19 total goals, their combined numbers account for more than 50%.

They also outperform Lautaro and Calhanoglu, the Nerazzurri’s top scorers. Yesterday they reached 13, but of Inter’s 32, they contribute ‘only’ 40.6%. Roma (15 goals scored) are in the running with Soulè (four) and Dovbyk (two) who have 40% of their goals.

In Thursday’s outing at the Stadio Olimpico, Allegri preferred to split them: Rafa started alongside Nkunku, and the Portuguese missed a big chance before Zaccagni’s winner. Christian came on with nine minutes remaining, as Max clearly wasn’t too keen on risking him.

Home and away

Considering the Coppa Italia matches as well, Pulisic is the Rossoneri’s true goalscorer, more so than Leao: seven goals scored to six.

In his Milan career, the American scored 39 goals in 111 games and played 7,787 minutes, so one goal every 200 minutes. Leao, on the other hand, has 76 goals in 271 appearances, 18,439 minutes on the pitch for the Rossoneri: an average of one goal every 243 minutes.

The idea of ​​bringing them closer together and pushing them forward into the penalty area was Allegri’s, a summer theory he’s rarely been able to put into practice. Max focuses on quality and above all speed, which is crucial on the counter-attack.

This is why Nkunku has become the first option and the injured Gimenez a difficult centre-forward to place, especially if his goal drought continues. Leao scored the winner against Lazio with the movement and finish of a striker, before missing a big chance in the cup, showing he has work to do.

So, which Rafa is the real Rafa? The match in Turin is already an opportunity to answer that question. For Pulisic, the question is: will he have 90 minutes in his legs? The pitch will tell us. We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.