GdS: ‘Leao ultimatum’ – what Allegri has demanded to earn starting spot

Massimiliano Allegri needs to get Rafael Leao going for AC Milan’s benefit, and he hopes that Sunday’s events will be a turning point.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports this morning that the relationship between Leao and Allegri is a fine line running through Milan’s season. Allegri reprimanded Leao in front of part of the team in the dressing room after the Juventus draw.

Allegri made it clear to Leao that he must give more on the pitch if he wants to earn a place in Milan this season. Otherwise, he risks being left on the bench. It must be said though that the relationship between the two has been very good over the past two months and can continue to be so.

What happened on Sunday

Things began when Allegri turned to Leao when he was getting ready to come on and said: “Don’t p*** me off…” Instead, what followed was two big missed chances. The first one, with a virtually empty net, caused the coach to ask: “How did he manage to put that one out?”

Then Leao wasted an assist from the phenomenal Luka Modric, and Allegri went berserk. He banged his hands on his head and screamed, even unleashing a tirade at the bench: “Now nobody speaks in the dressing room.”

In the dressing room, he did indeed speak. He told Leao that his attitude was not right and that the forward must raise his intensity levels on the pitch. Being clinical in front of goal is always the ideal, but the feeling is that it is Leao’s work off the ball that is angering the coach.

It’s no coincidence that among Allegri’s remarks caught on camera is a somewhat symbolic “Rafa, come back!” The point now is to understand how Leao’s season and his relationship with Allegri will evolve, with mitigating circumstances such as his long absence due to a calf issue.

For now, though, Leao faces a battle just to keep his spot. Christian Pulisic has one of the places in the attacking pairing locked down, so Santiago Gimenez and Christopher Nkunku – the latter improving in condition – hope to consign Rafa to a spot on the bench.