Rafael Leao is AC Milan’s biggest star and the player who earns the most. But, he is also the player who currently plays his weakest football since joining the club. To make things worse, his current coach is also Portuguese, and instead of working perfectly with each other, Leao and Paulo Fonseca are often on the opposite sides. The former Lille coach cannot seem to find the magic formula for his countryman while Leao is still not consistent, even thou he is 25 years old and no longer a youngster. The latest episode between the pair was Rafael’s benching against Udinese in Serie A. The coach tried to convince the media that there is no issue and that he simply decided to start with Okafor and Chukwueze (who scored the winner), but once he said that ‘the team is more important than a player’, rumors started to spread.Head Coach Paulo Fonseca’s pre-match analysis 🗣️💪 Recovery🆚 Club Brugge😈 Team spirit#MilanBrugge #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/HcJKVwgaV7— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 21, 2024 So, he learned his lesson and the first thing he did yesterday was to announce that Leao will start the game.“I can say that Leao will start. Gabbia trained today; he’s fit. Not Abraham; he still has a problem. Let’s see if he recovers for Bologna” he said, and then even gave the full starting line-up to the media: “Mike Maignan, Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo; Fofana, Loftus, Tijji Reijnders, Rafa Leao, Pulisic, Morata” Fonseca.Leao’s subtle dig at Fonseca and MilanAfter loosing to both Liverpool (at home) and Leverkusen (away), Rossonneri are in the 32nd place (out of 36 teams) in the Champions League and desperately need a win. They are playing at home against Brugge, certainly an easier opponent, but even the Belgians have managed a win and three points (against Sturm). Points are also necessary as their next opponent will be Real Madrid, so without a win here, things would be really messy after a trip to Santiago Bernabeu on November 11th.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 3Tuesday19:45: (1.45) AC Milan (4.40) Club Brugge (7.25)19:45: (1.40) Monaco (5.30) Crvena Zvezda (8.00)22:00: (1.10) Arsenal (11.0) Shakhtar (18.0)22:00: (1.62) Aston Villa (3.80) Bologna (5.80)22:00: (1.20) Girona (8.00) Slovan B. (14.0)22:00: (1.87) Juventus (3.50) Stuttgart (4.20)22:00: (1.45) PSG (4.50) PSV (7.00)22:00: (1.50) Real Madrid (4.40) Dortmund (6.50)22:00: (8.00) Sturm (4.70) Sporting (1.40)Wednesday19:45: (1.45) Atalanta (4.50) Celtic (7.00)19:45: (6.25) Brest (4.70) Leverkusen (1.48)22:00: (1.53) Atl.Madrid (4.00) Lille (6.75)22:00: (2.40) Barcelona (3.60) Bayern (2.80)22:00: (1.62) Benfica (3.90) Feyenoord (5.60)22:00: (1.07) Man.City (13.0) Sparta Praha (25.0)22:00: (4.00) RB Leipzig (3.60) Liverpool (1.90)22:00: (1.75) Salzburg (3.60) Dinamo Zagreb (4.90)22:00: (8.00) Young Boys (4.70) Inter Milan (1.40)***odds are subject to change**
