It was a turbulent week for Portuguese forward Rafael Leão in Italy with AC Milan, beginning with the wrath of his own supporters and ending with a devastating cameo on Saturday.
Leão was whistled by sections of the Milan fanbase upon being substituted against Genoa last weekend, after which he headed straight to the dressing room. This matchday was a happier story, with the Seleção man providing a goal and an assist as the Rossoneri hammered Cagliari 5-1 at San Siro.
Milan welcomed relegation-battlers Cagliari to San Siro with little to play for, having all but ensured they will finish runners-up to city rivals Inter in Serie A. With the hosts leading 1-0 at half time, Leão was introduced at the break in place of Samuel Chukwueze and made a stunning impact on the game.
Leão’s throughball set up Christian Pulisic to double Milan’s lead just before the hour, and later the Portuguese got himself on the scoresheet to put his team 4-1 up. Leão demonstrated typical pace and control to race clear of the Cagliari backline, before calmly breezing past goalkeeper Simone Scuffet to find the empty net.
Nobody has more assists in Serie A this season than Rafael Leão. That’s gone under the radar.
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) May 13, 2024
pic.twitter.com/p6DOO3EKlC
Una vez que Leao arrancó...
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_ES) May 12, 2024
...no hay forma de detenerlo ????#MilanCagliari pic.twitter.com/UIT6C71UC0
The goal for Leão was just his 8th in the league this season, but the former Sporting man leads the table for assists with 9 to his name. In all competitions, Leão has found the net 14 times, putting him two goals behind last season’s career-best tally of 16 with two matches left to play.
By @SeanGillen9
