The road to the Champions League goes through them: if they push as expected, Milan can rest easy. In the heart of the Rossoneri’s penalty area, Conceição will once again rely on Santi Gimenez: five goals in five matches in this season’s competition with Feyenoord.
Apart from the opening game against Leverkusen, he has scored in every match, including the away fixture in Manchester where he came off the bench, and his last game for the Dutch side against Lille before leaving the field injured.
He also struggled in his European debut with Milan: returning to his former club, he was overwhelmed by emotion. Tomorrow night, however, he won’t be so sentimental. The other ace in attack, whom the coach was determined to add to his deck of options, is João Félix. He has played in the Champions League with Atlético Madrid (27 matches, 7 goals), Barcelona (9 appearances, 3 goals), Chelsea (4 games), Benfica (1), and Milan in the first leg in the Netherlands. Clearly, he is an experienced player, accustomed to big games, and tomorrow’s clash at San Siro will be one of them. Since João’s arrival, he hasn’t left the starting lineup. From his debut goal in the Coppa Italia, he has started in two league matches and in the Champions League.
Then there’s Leão: among this collection of aces, he is considered the weak link. Conceição benched him in Milan’s last two Serie A matches—against Empoli, where he came on and scored, and two nights ago against Verona, where he came on and provided a winning assist. That touch brought him to 100 goal involvements: he has now contributed to 100 goals in Europe’s top five leagues (60 goals and 40 assists). His numbers in the Champions League are less prolific (six goals and six assists in 29 matches), but he remains a significant asset.
And when Leão decides to open his bag of tricks, he knows how to be decisive.
Milan, all-out attack
The Rossoneri team is going full throttle against Feyenoord in tomorrow’s second leg of the playoff at San Siro. To keep their hopes of reaching the Round of 16 alive, the Rossoneri must score. And this will likely be the attacking lineup the coach starts with. Not to mention Pulisic, who was rested two days ago as a precaution—he could also be part of the match.
Conceicao's four-man attack actually struggled at Feyenoord’s stadium in torrential rain: in the only match where Conceição fielded all four of his attacking stars, the team failed to score. Ironically, their opponents, missing their main striker, found the net instead. Gimenez, however, has quickly become a fan favorite among the Rossoneri faithful.
Tomorrow, they will all be together for the first time at San Siro. There is a strong temptation to start them all, given the need to dominate the box and win by a two-goal margin. So, full steam ahead: Leão is expected to return to the starting lineup on the left, after proving he can be impactful even coming off the bench, as seen in the Supercoppa and his last two league appearances. However, the role of a super-sub doesn’t suit him—Rafa wants to start. And judging by his effort on the pitch, it seems Conceição’s lesson about defensive contributions has been taken to heart, as relayed via La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Milan's new stars
More than Leão, the pressure is on the new arrivals. For Rafa, having fewer responsibilities could be an incentive to push even harder. The new faces in question: João Félix and Santiago Gimenez, who have quickly made their mark at Milan. João, with his chipped goal against Roma and his ability to roam freely across the pitch, plays like a seasoned pro—always calling for the ball and dictating the tempo of the attack.
Santiago has showcased his goal-scoring instinct and much more: “The coach has given me a lot of confidence. He really likes how I attack spaces.” In Empoli, Santiago scored with a curled shot; two nights ago, he was in the right place at the right time. If he nets his first Champions League goal for Milan, he would match Morata, who scored in the match against Real Madrid before being stopped.
In the meantime, Milan has rediscovered what it means to have a physical presence in the box. After his goal against Verona, Gimenez became just the third player in the three-points-per-win era to score in each of his first two Serie A matches for the Rossoneri. Before him, in their debut seasons, only Shevchenko (September 1999) and Christian Pulisic (August 2023) had managed the feat.
So, Santi is in. Since arriving, Santiago has been decisive against Roma, Empoli, and Hellas Verona. He only faltered against Feyenoord—but he has a second chance...
