Tuttosport: Leao and the defence – two ‘macro-arguments’ emerge after Slovan game | OneFootball

AC Milan’s win against Slovan Bratislava brought two takeaways as per a report: that the team cannot defend and cannot do without Rafael Leao.

As this morning’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanNews) writes, the win in the Slovakian capital ‘can be summed up in two macro-arguments’, which relate to the defensive struggles and the reliance on Leao.

Slovan Bratislava, with respect to them, should have been a team that Milan dominated. They had only scored two goals in four Champions League games before yesterday, and had lost 5-1 to Celtic and 4-1 to Dinamo Zagreb already.

However, the ‘nightmare’ performance of the defensive department kept the game open until the final seconds. The way that the 1-1 goal was conceded was very worrying, but the fact there were two other occasions where Slovan players got through on goal is even more shocking.

As if conceding that goal shortly after taking the lead wasn’t enough, it sent the Rossoneri into a tailspin and for the entire first half they were unable to produce anything. The numbers speak terribly clearly: 22 goals conceded in 17 games, something has to change.

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The positive note instead is Rafael Leao who – despite starting from the bench against – managed to be decisive. He came on at half-time in place of an evanescent Noah Okafor and changed the face of the attack with his pace and directness, unjamming a match that risked being embarrassing.

It is the umpteenth demonstration that the Portuguese has overcome his difficult run of form and also serves as proof that a player of this type can never be left on the bench, in any situation.

His words after the game – in which he scooped the man of the match award – he shows that he has accepted the decisions of his coach, but he cannot be happy on the bench.