Fonseca says benching Leao ‘must be normal’ for Milan: “Team is more important” | OneFootball

Rafael Leao was benched as AC Milan faced Udinese last night and remained there for the entirety of the clash. Afterwards, Paulo Fonseca spoke to the media at the press conference and explained his decision.

Leao is one of Milan’s stars and some were perhaps a bit surprised to see him on the bench last night, especially since the Rossoneri really needed to win. His replacement, Noah Okafor, created the first goal – scored by Samuel Chukwueze – and thus got a high score in our ratings for the game.

After the game, more specifically during the press conference, Fonseca was asked about Leao’s exclusion and what prompted him to make that decision. The manager, as transcribed by MilanNews, highlighted the obvious: the others were in better form.

Leao out for 90 minutes…

“Maybe it’s strange for you not to see Rafa, but this must be normal. It’s not normal to see Leao on the bench, but it’s normal for me when I say that the team is more important, Milan is more important than a few players.

“Today I decided to let Okafor and Chukwueze play, maybe tomorrow it will be Leao’s turn. Let’s not create a case, because there isn’t one. Leao was respectful, satisfied in the locker room and this is the most important thing for me. Now, I will prepare for the next match and maybe Leao will come back to play.”

And now Leao?

“He has to prepare well because we need Rafa.”

Why did you choose these starters and not others?

“We had more time to work with the players who stayed here. Leao didn’t train on Thursday, he had a little discomfort in his flexor; he only trained yesterday. And so I decided to play Okafor and Chukwueze, who played very, very well.”

Leao will most likely be back from start against Club Brugge on Tuesday evening, though Okafor might fancy his chances given he only played 45 minutes last night. That was due to the red card, sacrificed to give the team more defensive stability.