AC Milan will play against Bayer Leverkusen tonight in the Champions League. The key player for the Rossoneri is Rafael Leao while Xabi Alonso will rely on the services of Florian Wirtz.
This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport focuses on two of the brightest talents in the European landscape. Both wear the number 10 on their backs and possess the same, identical, talent in their feet. Leao was the captain of Milan in the last league match and the man who, alongside Fonseca, presented tonight's challenge.
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Leao must do better in the Champions League competition
Another tactic from the coach to make him increasingly responsible. The Champions League is a stage where Rafa has performed 21 times, scoring three goals and providing six assists: to be considered an international champion, Leao must showcase his talent on this stage. And Wirtz? It’s hard to ask for more from him: in the last 26 starts with Bayer, he has been involved in 24 goals.
On September 19, in his Champions League debut, he scored a brace against Feyenoord. On June 6, 2020, he became the youngest scorer in Bundesliga history at 17 years and 34 days.
Additionally, he netted a hat-trick on April 14 against Werder Bremen, a match that delivered the first-ever Bundesliga title to Leverkusen.
On March 23, he scored his first national team goal just 7 seconds into the match: the fastest in Germany's history.
He also scored Germany’s first goal in the Euros and another goal in the quarter-finals against Spain.
To bring him to Leverkusen, sporting director Simon Rolfes broke a historic “non-aggression pact” with Koln, Wirtz’s first club, with which there was a commitment not to poach players from youth teams.
