After the win in Genoa, Milan are now just one victory away from qualifying for next season’s Champions League. A draw could also be enough for the Rossoneri, but in that case they would have to rely on the results of the other teams fighting for third and fourth place, namely Roma, Como, and Juventus. For Sunday’s decisive match at 20:45 CEST against Cagliari, Max Allegri intends to rely on his most trusted players, which means there will be some fairly significant omissions, chief among them Rafael Leão.
Will Leao sit on the bench in Milan-Cagliari?
This morning, Corriere dello Sport reported that the ex Juventus coach will give playing time to those players who, in recent weeks, have shown themselves to be closest to him and who have not been distracted by other factors such as the World Cup, their future, or phone calls from Zlatan Ibrahimović. Allegri therefore wants to rely only on those who are willing to fight for the Rossoneri cause and who do not have other things on their mind. The first notable name expected not to start is precisely Rafael Leão, who missed the Genoa match through suspension. The Portuguese player’s performances in recent weeks have been very disappointing, to the point that he has often been booed by Milan supporters. In attack, Christopher Nkunku will replace him, as he is currently Milan’s most in-form forward.
Other high-profile exclusions
In addition to Leão, there will also be two other major omissions: Fikayo Tomori and Youssouf Fofana, coincidentally, both also recipients of phone calls from Ibrahimović. The defender will be replaced by Koni De Winter, who will complete Milan’s back three alongside the usual Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlović. In midfield, where Luka Modrić is expected to return to the starting line-up and Adrien Rabiot is set to keep his place, the Frenchman Fofana should make way for either Samuel Ricci or Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Ricci currently favoured. In attack, besides Leão, Christian Pulisic is also at risk of starting on the bench: for the role alongside Nkunku, Niclas Füllkrug is ahead of Santiago Giménez.
