Rafael Leao fully admits his goal in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 against Genoa was meant to be a cross and spoke positively about extending his contract with Milan.
The tie went to extra time when Olivier Giroud’s header cancelled out the Leo Ostigard opener at San Siro.
Leao’s looping effort from the left flew into the far top corner, then Theo Hernandez set up Alexis Saelemaekers for the 3-1 final result.
Naturally, the question had to be asked, did Leao intend to lob that or was it a mistake?
“I wanted to cross, because we have a player like Giroud who is so good in the air. If I don’t have the room to shoot, I go for the cross and that’s what I was doing there,” Leao confessed to Sport Mediaset.
“Whether I start or come off the bench, I always try to give my contribution to the team. I am happy that I managed to score and we won the game today.”
Director Paolo Maldini said they were starting negotiations to extend Leao’s contract and his performances of late will certainly have been encouraging for the fans.
“I am happy at Milan, it’s a great club and I love the city, so we’ll see. It’s still early days.”
Rafael Leão chips the keeper from the wing! 👀
It didn’t look like he meant it, but Milan will take it as they lead 2-1 🔴⚫ pic.twitter.com/OO7Sqysh4C
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) January 13, 2022
“[S]o we’ll see. It’s still early days.” Uh oh.
@Vero Rossonero
Thought exactly the same thing when I read it.