On the most illustrious stage in European football, the Santiago Bernabeu, against the team for whom the Champions League is a backyard garden, Real Madrid, the brightest star of all is Rafael Leao.
The Portuguese forward redeems himself after a difficult period, perhaps the hardest of his career, and on the pitch of Madrid’s temple, his feet, his sprints, and his creativity speak louder than words, as relayed via Milannews.it.
The 'Galactic' Rafael Leao
In the temple of the Galacticos, as La Gazzetta dello Sport writes today, the only galactic player last night was Rafael Leao. He did it in a very mature way, without overdoing it or being overly flashy, but simply with the consistency of his performance.
The proof of this is the match report, which shows him just once among the assist providers. However, those who watched the game know that Milan's number 10 was one of the best on the field and had a hand in all three goals. He earned the corner that led to Thiaw's goal; he forced Lunin into a save, the rebound allowing Morata to double the score; he assisted Reijnders for the third goal after sprinting half the field and burning two unlucky Madrid defenders in the process (Eder Militao and then Lucas Vasquez). Along with all this, he combined focus and danger in front of the goal on multiple occasions.
Confirmation? No, thanks, Leao doesn't need to confirm himself
Rafael Leao was everything Paulo Fonseca had asked of him the night before: decisive. And doing it on such an important night makes the Portuguese’s performance even more valuable, one his teammates never doubted. In this sense, Álvaro Morata’s words, both before and after the match, were beautiful. Before the game, the ex Real Madrid and Juventus star had assured: "He doesn’t need to establish himself; he’s a player of a high level. I hope this will be his first big night here: he was born for these games, for these competitions."
After the match, with the result in hand, the Spanish striker returned to the microphones and added: "We’ve never had any doubts. He should also be aware that he can make football history: he’s clearly stronger than all of us.” Now it will be up to Leao to ride the positive wave of this performance and carry it throughout the rest of the season.
