GdS: Never together, but never been better – Milan’s Leao-Pulisic paradox

Massimiliano Allegri designated Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao as his front two during preseason, but the pair have barely played together.

La Gazzetta dello Sport point out how Pulisic and Leao have only started together in two games this season: Milan vs. Bari in the Coppa Italia and the derby. Individually, though, they’re performing like never before.

Milan now work like this: either Christian is available or Rafa is available, and whoever plays almost always scores. Pulisic has the best minutes-to-goal ratio in Italy: one goal for every 76 minutes of Serie A played. Leao is third with 121: ahead of him is only Bonny at Inter.

The hopes to reunite

Leao scored eight goals in 2,323 minutes in Serie A last season: one every 290 minutes. The previous season, he scored nine goals in 2,512 minutes: one every 279. In 2022-23, his best offensive season, he scored 15 goals in 2,421 minutes: one every 161 minutes. Now, he is doing even better.

As for Pulisic, in the last two years he’s averaged 225 minutes per goal (last season) and 217 minutes in his debut campaign. That means he’s tripled his goals per minute in one summer, which is a remarkable feat.

How this happened is difficult to explain. Leao’s central positioning and taking penalties certainly played a big role. “When he starts from the left, he sometimes falls asleep and loses control of the game,” Allegri said in Cagliari. In the middle, however, he’s finding his way to the net more often.

Photos: Marco Luzzani + Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images

The American, on the other hand, continues his unique interpretation of the role. Pulisic reads between the lines and always finds a way to be in the right place at the right time, whether starting from the right, left or centre.

As a second striker, he has fewer defensive duties, plays closer to the penalty area, and always arrives fresh. Allegri has freed them up, empowered them, and brought them closer to the goal. The signs suggest it has worked.

The next step will be to bring them together. Allegri would like to try starting Leao and Pulisic from the start against Genoa on Thursday. For Rafa, it seems easier, for Christian, the next few days will be crucial.

On paper, they can help each other. They are unpredictable, have a touch of speed, and are creative. It’s no coincidence that Milan beat Inter with a goal from Pulisic, and against Bari they both found the net. In a season that is already going well, there could be another level to this Milan.