Milan’s disappointing loss to Torino was another example of their over-reliance on their star forward Rafael Leao, suggests Apollo Heyes.
The Rossoneri struggled to hit the mark in Turin on the weekend, falling 2-0 down in the first half after goals from Koffi Djidji and Aleksey Miranchuk. They were given a sliver of hope in the second half after Junior Messias’ 67th minute strike, but despite their efforts they failed to find an equaliser, leaving them empty-handed come the full time whistle.
Leao was quiet in the match and taken off at half time, being replaced by Ante Rebic, and was clearly frustrated with his performance. Although the Portuguese forward failed to contribute to a goal against Torino, it’s hard to lay the blame at his door.
Milan have a clear reliance on Leao, seen when looking at his goal contributions this season. In matches that the 23-year-old scored or provided an assist in, Milan won all but one, only drawing to RB Salzburg. In the seven games that Leao stayed silent, the Rossoneri lost three and drew two. The team also lost to Napoli when he was out suspended.
Looking at Leao’s underlying numbers, it would also be unfair to call him inconsistent this season. The 23-year-old is producing more expected goals and assists per 90 minutes this season (0.68) than he did last term (0.60), he’s taking more shots on average, 4.77 this year to 3.36 last campaign, and producing more shot-creating actions per 90, 4.09 to 3.88.
The Rossoneri clearly have a lack of firepower up front, not helped by the absence of veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the heavy playing time enforced on Olivier Giroud, and Leao is often the decisive figure, something that he cannot be expected to replicate week in and week out.
He misses 3 great chances against Torino,
“It’s hard to lay the blame at his door.”
Woot? If he’d scored those chances, Milan would’ve been winning 3-0.
Every player have a bad day. Next match will be back to his best.