7 hours ago
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Rafael Leao once again showed his match-winning capabilities for AC Milan in their huge victory against Roma, and he is now the leader of this team.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write, Leao can be a strange player to watch on the field. Sometimes he seems detached when he’s actually involved, it seems like everything could slide past him, but he absorbs everything with a smile, like a coiled spring ready to leap into action.
He was smiling two nights ago, when he outpaced Evan N’Dicka and provided the assist for the winning goal. It is a moment that Milan chose to replay on social media in slow motion, so that Rossoneri fans could fully appreciate it.
Leao was also genuinely smiling when he returned from the pitch to find the entire dressing room applauding him. Everyone was standing for him and Mike Maignan, who had lingered on the San Siro pitch for the customary post-match interviews.
Rafa and Mike had in fact been voted men of the match: Leao for setting up Strahinja Pavlovic’s goal, Maignan for keeping the lead with the penalty save on Paulo Dybala. Two leaders, both decisive, at two ends of the pitch.
Graduation
Today, Leao is somewhere in between a talent who still has a lot of potential to show, but also one of the Rossoneri’s veterans. Excluding Matteo Gabbia who came through the academy, he is the longest-tenured player in the squad.
On the pitch, he demonstrates his leadership: before, it was the others who encouraged him but two nights ago against Roma, he was the one who turned to his team-mates who were struggling to clap in encouragement. The applause was reciprocated in the dressing room.
Leao also served the team with other gestures, such as the perfect assist to Pavlovic which came from a typical driving run down the left side, quite far away from the position that Allegri seemed to have tailored for him, that of centre-forward.
Rafa became one of three forwards, alongside Dybala and Lautaro Martinez, to have both scored and provided at least one assist in each of the last seven Serie A seasons (since 2019-20, his debut campaign in red and black).
The numbers
In addition to assists, there are also goals. He has three goals in four league starts, three of which he played until the 90th minute. In Bergamo against Atalanta, Rafa came off due to a hip issue. He scored in his only Coppa Italia game against Bari, before coming off after 17 minutes due to a calf issue.
His season total is 380 minutes, with a goal every 126 minutes and a decisive play (goal or assist) every 95 minutes. It is well above his previous standards: Leao has played 18,102 minutes with Milan in total, scoring 74 goals, or once every 245 minutes.
It’s also unusual that Leao remained on the pitch against Roma despite his sub-par form, only leaving the pitch with cramp deep into injury time, amid chants and applause from the San Siro.
On numerous other occasions, he had finished the match giving the impression he hadn’t given his all. Not this time. Rafa was a leader, and a contract renewal continues to be spoken about.
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