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The Rossoneri talisman’s recent upswing puts Stefano Pioli’s men in good stead before facing Jose Mourinho’s injury-hit side.
After almost three months of nonstop censure, Rafael Leao has come alive again.
Serie A’s incumbent Most Valuable Player’s goal against Lecce in mid-January was to be his last for a while, with the AC Milan superstar unable to find the back of the net for eight games before dominating at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at the start of the month.
That game was slated as the battle between this year’s potential MVP, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the outgoing player with the honour, but the Portugal international upstaged the Napoli star as Milan claimed an unforeseen 4-0 success.
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18:54 - 11.04.2023
UCL Leao v Kvaratskhelia II: Can the Napoli superstar respond in Milan?
Upstaged by the AC Milan man on April 2, the Georgian could strike back at San Siro in the second of three meetings this month.
It was the sort of performance that Leao produced time and again last season when Stefano Pioli’s team ended a barren wait for a Serie A title, with that brace taking him to 12 in the league this term, one more than last year’s tally.
The Rossoneri will not retain the crown they won after an 11-year wait, but their superstar’s timely resurgence means they are still competing on two fronts at the end of April.
Pioli’s men are in the Champions League semi-final for the first time since they reigned supreme in Europe in 2007 and still face a fascinating tussle to even play in next year’s competition.
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22:00 - 31.03.2023
SERIE A Champions League tussle set for fresh twists in round 28
Eleven points separate second-placed Lazio from Juventus in seventh, but the fascinating six-way battle for three spots is far more nuanced.
While an eighth European crown guarantees participation in next year’s competition, that is far from guaranteed for the Red and Blacks.
Thus, the timeliness of Leao’s revival. In fairness, the lull was not down to the Portuguese alone. Milan’s concession of an inordinate number of goals in defeats by Roma and Sassuolo brought about the alteration from Pioli, who was concerned with the team’s broader structure without possession.
Losing 4-0 at the Olimpico was shocking, but conceding five at San Siro against the Neroverdi left much to be desired. At the time, Pioli’s team had let in 14 goals in five league games in 2023, and the Milan boss felt a short-term tweak was necessary.
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This coincided with Leao’s dip, with the wide attacker struggling to thrive in a more central role, even if the Rossoneri played out three straight victories after a Milan derby defeat, with a 2-0 success over Atalanta their best performance with the back three.
A return to a four-player defence was teased in the head-scratching 3-1 loss at Udinese when Pioli hinted after his in-game change in Udine that a back four was considered for the visit to the Maradona. That happened, and Leao came alive again.
He put the Champions-elect to the sword with two goals showing multiple facets of his game. The first saw him run in behind the Napoli backline like a central striker, and the second was Leao in his element: taking on a defender and producing decisive moments.
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21:50 - 17.04.2023
ANALYSIS Pioli has spotted a Napoli weakness, but will Spalletti find solutions?
The Rossoneri’s attacking transitions have punished the Partenopei in recent games, and the side trailing will strive not to play into Milan’s hands again.
The wide attacker was arguably the player of the tie in Milan’s Champions League elimination of the Partenopei this month, proving to be a menace in transition for Luciano Spalletti’s men in both games.
Leao won the penalty subsequently missed by Olivier Giroud, but he stayed undeterred. Just before the interlude, the winger picked up the ball deep inside his half, surged past three Napoli players and set up the Frenchman to double Milan’s aggregate advantage.
A few days later, the 23-year-old was the difference maker in Milan’s 2-0 success over Lecce last weekend, even netting a rare header — his first headed league goal for Milan since the 2019-20 campaign.
“We need to give continuity to our performances and make sure that the next match is always the most important one,” said Pioli in Friday’s press conference. “And that’s how it is: tomorrow’s match is worth double (in terms of points), and we need to face it with the right spirit.
“It’s worth a lot, we have increasingly fewer games left to play. We have three direct clashes, the more points we score, the more chance we will have to finish in the top 4, which is our biggest goal.”
A meeting with a side they have not fallen to defeat against since 2019 ideally should be looked forward to with optimism of extending that run to seven, but Pioli is not entertaining that thought despite Roma’s unending issues with injuries. Even Jose Mourinho admits it is a huge problem.
“Injuries are due to the accumulation of matches,” the Portuguese coach stated after the Giallorossi were beaten 3-1 by Atalanta.
“I think every coach, even in the richest clubs, will have a problem when players are missing. For some teams it is a small problem, for us, it is a huge problem. Obviously, it will be very tough for us.”
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Juventus’ 15-point reversal put Roma in a problematic situation regarding a top-four finish and Monday’s reverse in Bergamo doubly complicates a Champions League return via the league, with the Bergamaschi now two points behind Inter Milan and four adrift of Roma and Milan.
Depending on Lazio’s result at Inter this weekend and Atalanta’s outcome at Torino, we could have a six-way battle for three spots behind soon-to-be champions Napoli.
“People always say the head-to-head clashes are worth double, and that’s how we see the Roma match,” said Pioli after last week’s success.
With Leao in such decisive form, the Rossoneri can be confident heading to the Olimpico.
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14:41 - 28.04.2023
Game week 32 betting tips for Serie A games
This weekend sees the continuation of the Serie A games, and we have made available some enticing odds and betting tips for this weekend's Serie A fixtures.
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