A season to forget, with shadows far outweighing the light. Milan heads into the final ten days of April with only one goal left to pursue: the Coppa Italia. Out of the title race and European competitions since January, miles away from the Champions League zone and currently out of the running even for the Europa League and Conference League, Sergio Conceição’s team cannot afford to fail Wednesday’s clash against Inter (kick-off at 9:00 PM CET), which is effectively their last chance to avoid drawing the curtain on the season early.
Beating the Nerazzurri, still alive on three fronts and set to play in the Club World Cup in June, would mean facing Empoli or, more likely, Bologna in the final of the national cup, scheduled for Wednesday, May 14 in Rome. That would revive the Rossoneri's chances of qualifying directly for next season’s Europa League group stage—something that would feel like manna from heaven right now. For Milan, this match is much more than a do-or-die situation: knocking out Inter would help ease the bitterness of a season that has brought only one moment of joy—the Italian Super Cup victory in Saudi Arabia, also against Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri.
Even if tired and plagued by injuries, Inter still seem to have something more than Milan, who will need to show their best version to advance. In other words, all their top players must perform at the highest level—especially Leao, perhaps the most talented player in the squad, but certainly one of the most inconsistent. After Sunday’s defeat to Atalanta, the Portuguese forward made it clear: Milan must go all the way. “The Coppa Italia is a competition to win—and it’s a derby, there’s not much else to say. You have to step onto the pitch with the right desire to win, because a derby is always personal. And we have to remind ourselves this is a trophy we must win.”
Milan needs a leader-version Leao.
A driving force—not just a bonus. The former Lille man has shown throughout his Rossoneri career that he can hurt Inter (3 goals and 3 assists), despite them being the team he’s lost to the most in his career (10 defeats). The “away” factor could play in his favor: this season, across league and cup competitions, he has scored 11 goals—8 of them away from San Siro. On Wednesday, Milan won’t be the home side, and Leao knows that. Just as he knows that this season, he’s only scored once against a top side—on that turbulent night in Rome against Lazio, back on August 31. If Milan wants to go all the way, it needs Leao to finally take the team by the hand. To silence the critics. To prove he has become a role model.
This was relayed via Calciomercato.com.
