This morning, the Tuttosport editorial team published a piece on Rafael Leao and his start to the season. In particular, the Rossoneri number 10 is described as a workmanlike player, perhaps not the first term that comes to mind when thinking about the Portuguese talent, but if you have followed Milan in this first part of the season, it is a comparison that fits perfectly. Allegri’s method is in full effect, and its impact is already visible.
Leao works harder now
We will probably never see a Rafael Leao who drops all the way back into the penalty area, and it is right that this is so: the characteristics of the number 10 are very specific, and it is correct that a talent like his is not distorted. Perhaps this is the starting point Allegri chose, working heavily, as he does with all players, on the mental aspect: the consequence is automatic. Leao is not forced by tactical instructions to make sacrifices, but he does because he feels comfortable in the system. The match against Inter, from this perspective, was illustrative: few playable balls, many physical challenges and illegal hits (far more received than given), apparently wasted runs… A positive attitude in a zone of the field that allows him to work off the ball more calmly than on the wing, as relayed via Milan News.
The interesting point is that, despite playing as a forward and no longer in his preferred zone, despite being injured for about a month, Leao is producing his best start to a season since joining Milan. He has scored 4 goals in 8 Serie A games, 6 of which he played from the first minute, an average of 1 goal every 135 minutes. It is not a striker’s statistic, to be clear, but it is without doubt better than his previous records. At this stage of the season: in 2021/22 he scored 1 goal every 220 minutes; in 2022/23 he scored 1 every 160; in 2023/24 he scored 1 every 277; finally, in 2024/25 he scored 1 every 247. A much better average, close to the post-Scudetto season, showing that Allegri’s seemingly cautious system actually brings several benefits offensively.
