The Rossoneri wanted their revenge and they got it. A few weeks after falling heavily at the Parc des Princes (3-0), AC Milan overthrew Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening (2-1), on their San Siro pitch as part of the 4th day of the League of Champions. A capital victory for Stefano Pioli’s troops since by beating the leaders of Group F, the Milanese pocketed their first victory of the season in Europe and remain, thanks to this success, still alive in this pool of death. And one thing is certain: the Portuguese star, Rafael Leão responded in this standoff, this European shock, against PSG. He was also elected man of the match by UEFA but also by the editorial staff of French Football Weekly.
“In my opinion, today the prize is for the whole team. We showed what Milan looks like at home. I am happy and proud of my team, we did an incredible job. I am very happy. The critics push me, you continue to speak and I speak on the ground. I’m doing my job, what we did today, we did together. We believe in qualification”, subsequently declared the Milan striker in the mixed zone. A true offensive will-o’-the-wisp, Leão was the major architect of his team’s victory, although he was expected to turn the corner after a rather poor first match at the Parc des Princes.
A perfect copy of Portuguese
Author of a good equalizer with this volley (12th), the Portuguese did badly in his left lane and was the main Lombard threat in the first period: ten duels won out of fifteen, three fouls caused, two shots on target out of three attempts. He could even have scored a double, but he crossed his shot too far to the left (37th). Once again in good shots, he was too short on Christian Pulisic’s cross (50th). Continuing to provoke and hurt his flank, he was poison for the PSG defense with 78% of successful passes: “This match was the one that could change everything for us, the victory was the most important thing. We won and now we move forward, this match gave us confidence.”. Acclaimed and applauded by the entire San Siro stadium for many minutes, the former LOSC player was indisputably the best player on the pitch this Tuesday evening, sometimes even becoming the first creator in the quick counter phases.
A royal performance which was praised by his trainer Stefano Pioli, after the match: “This should allow him to learn a lot from Rafa. This match can and should be his standard. He can be champion but it depends on him sometimes. Today he played an exceptional match, like the rest of the group.. Elusive, exceptional, wonderful, extraordinary… The various French and Italian presses are unanimous on the Portuguese’s performance this evening and there are not enough adjectives to describe the extent to which Rafael Leão dominated the Parisian defense, very often outpacing Milan Skriniar and Marquinhos. In any case, AC Milan did the job this evening in front of the hot Milanese fans, who were desperate to find a smile but above all hope after disappointments in the league and the Champions League.
