Massimiliano Allegri has taken on the role of psychologist as well as head coach, to try and get the best out of Rafael Leao.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, Allegri’s last glance towards the pitch before the penalty which ended up being the winning goal against Fiorentina on Sunday night was to give Leao permission to take it. Then, he turned away from the field, preferring not to watch presumably out of nerves.
While Allegri’s back was turned out of superstition, Youssouf Fofana maintained order – guarding the spot and the ball – waiting for Leao (the chosen one) to arrive so he could hand him the ball. The result: Leao scored the first non-shootout penalty of his senior career.
Despite the 30 penalties already taken by Modric (24 goals) and the 15 scored by Santiago Gimenez (out of 20 attempts), the two were happy for the Portuguese to take it. Thankfully, he did not let his team down.
Allegri’s work
While it may seem logical to some that a forward of Leao’s quality should be a leading candidate to take penalties, the aforementioned shows that until now he hasn’t been trusted. Yet, Allegri did well at reading the game and the moment.
Having had a difficult first half in which he struggled to impose himself as the centre-forward, Leao burst into life in the second half, more specifically after Fiorentina’s goal. The equaliser – in which he dribbled and found the bottom corner from 25 yards – lit the touch paper, and Max knew it.
The brilliant shots and unstoppable runs are one thing, but Leao has to constantly battle against a media narrative of incompleteness, mainly due to a lack of consistency. The coach knew it was his moment, and gave him the chance to write headlines.
A beneficial reorganisation
In the eyes of many, the issue was not so much Leao but rather the tactical approaches that disintegrated around him. Franck Kessie and then Sandro Tonali leaving the club took the balance away from the midfield, leading to exposure in transition and greater question marks about whether Rafa was worthy of such freedom.
Allegri changed the course of the argument: he shuffled things around, putting Luka Modric in the middle of his plans, with three players behind him and two other central midfielders. He freed Christian Pulisic, who was previously shifted out to the right side.
He has brought out the best in one of the most underrated players in Serie A, Alexis Saelemaekers. Why underrated? Despite not being a ‘star’, he was in the Milan team that won the Scudetto, a Bologna side in the Champions League and in Ranieri’s Roma that rose from 15th to fifth place.
The challenge is set
So, to play for this Milan, Leao had to step up his game because Pulisic is superior as a second striker and Gimenez is more suitable as a centre-forward. Allegri didn’t talk about consistency though, instead he targeted bringing some pride out of the Portuguese, making it a question of heart.
The competition present means that being good once every few games will not cut it any more, whereas before it felt like Leao was the first name on the team sheet no matter what his form was or the circumstances were.
We’re talking about a well-executed half hour after an hour of uncertainty, with two unconventional goals (a long shot, a penalty) that came after Gimenez’s introduction. However, something definitely shifted, and ‘revolutions begin like this’.
