Former Milan forward Dejan Savicevic praised the qualities of star winger Rafael Leao and explained why some players struggle with consistency.
Leao started the season in fine form, scoring three goals and providing two assists in the first five league matches, but has fallen quiet in recent weeks, only scoring once since late September.
The Portuguese forward played a key role in Milan’s vital Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain and is now working to help the club stay involved in the race for the league title with Inter and Juventus.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Savicevic first discussed the qualities of Leao and his work in the win over PSG.
“Leao is a great player, Milan’s best in the last two or three years. For me it’s not a surprise when he plays like he did against PSG.
“For me it’s a surprise to go to Qatar for the World Cup and not see him as a starter. Every now and then Leao is a genius like I was. A little genius… but different.”
He explained why some players struggle being hot and cold across games.
“The motivations. I’ll give you an example: at the Marakana in Belgrade there were 90-100,000 people and I really liked playing there.
“On the other hand, away from home, with 7-10,000 fans, I didn’t really want to…”
The former forward was asked who would win the Champions League this season.
“It’s too difficult in the Champions League, I’ll tell you in March. In Serie A, Inter and Milan are the strongest. I’ll also say Milan, even though they did everything wrong against Udinese.”
Finally, Savicevic gave his thoughts on Stefano Pioli, who has been the target of much criticism this season.
“I can’t watch all the matches, but Pioli won the Scudetto having a couple of strong players and the others… less so. Hats off for that.”