The phrase “like London buses” is ironically the best way to describe Rafael Leao, who is ending his goal drought in a crucial season.
The 26-year-old has now scored in back-to-back games at the San Siro after going 512 days without scoring at home in Serie A.
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Leao returns to the form that earned him Serie A MVP honors as the Rossoneri won their 19th Scudetto in 2022.
In the following year, 2022/23, the Portuguese international recorded his best league season with 15 goals.
However, he has failed to reach double figures in Serie A in the last two seasons, largely due to his epic struggles at the San Siro.
Rafa Leao ends 512-day drought
After scoring the first of six goals in Milan’s 3-3 draw against Salernitana on May 25, 2024, the winger subsequently went over 500 days without scoring in a league game in front of home fans.
Leao’s miserable run finally ended against Fiorentina as the Portuguese scored twice in a 2-1 comeback win.
And as they say, he followed that up with another goal in Friday’s 2-2 draw with Pisa to seal his return to top form.
Fittingly, Leao almost got to experience the London buses first hand after remaining in action and joining Arsenal in the summer.
The Pitch Prospect reporter Ben Jacobs revealed the Gunners’ interest in Leao was separate from their pursuit of Eberechi Eze in August.
A move ultimately failed as neither Leandro Trossard nor Gabriel Martinelli left.
Rafael Leao transfer news
Months later Manchester United and Liverpool Interest was credited in Leao, who now plays in the first group of two in attack.
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European football broadcaster Andy Brassell claimed that if things don’t work out this year, Milan’s talisman won’t make it at the highest level.
“I think we’ve only seen the best of Rafael Leao in tiny snippets,” he said during an exclusive interview with The Pitch Prospect.com.
“And I think it’s a shame because since he was MVP, Serie A MVP, it seems like he’s taken a step backwards because at that point he was dangerous, hard to stop and also pretty consistent. And from then on he really struggled.”
“In terms of consistency, you see him on his day and he looks like one of the top 15 players in the world.”
Leao is one of the 15 best players in the world
“He’s so, so good on his day. He’s big, he’s fast, the ball sticks to his feet. He can play inside or outside.”
“He can score goals. He’s got so much to offer. And yet I feel like over the last few years we’ve only seen his best performances in small stints with both Milan and Portugal, where he should have persevered with his ability, he should have got a first 11th place for Portugal. And he didn’t get a first 11th place for Portugal.”
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“Of course there is competition, but his abilities are nothing to sneeze at. It’s really something special.”
Of his more than 500-day losing streak at San Siro, Brassell added: “It’s remarkable to me. How can a player of such ability, with some but not a serious injury, a broken leg or a torn cruciate ligament or something like that, or an Achilles heel, go so long without scoring, without making a significant contribution at home?”
“Sometimes we forget that because we watch so much football from all over the world on TV. But how you play in the home games is important. It’s really important.”
“It really influences the opinion of a fan base of season ticket holders. So the people that actually come to the stadium every week, it influences the way they look at you. Of course it does.”
“If that’s what they see first hand, is that you’re promising but you’re not delivering week in and week out for a year and a half, then that’s really hard to overcome because I think you need the support of those fans to be at your best level and to feel good when you come out in a home game.”
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“Look, a lot has changed for Leao in the last year and a half. He’s become a father to twins. He’s obviously grown up in a lot of ways. And he recently talked about how he came to Milan as a boy and is now a man.”
“A lot has changed. But with that, with the big new contract, which, if we’re honest, rarely seemed valuable.”
“Milan has made great efforts to clarify his situation since leaving Sporting. Of course there was this thing at the training ground.”
Leao needs to start paying Milan back – they have invested a lot in him
“So they’ve helped him on a legal level, a financial level, and especially a moral level. They feel like they’ve invested a lot in him, and as they’ve helped him sort this mess out, and since they signed him to a new contract, they haven’t gotten any consistency out of it.”
“Max Allegri is quite a disciplinarian and you shouldn’t really mess with him, he has great prestige and status in Italian football,” Brassell continued.
“It’s a real challenge for him to come in here and of course, right at the start of the season, he suffered an injury in the Coppa Italia game that forced Leao out for several weeks.”
“That he comes back now, and this is the moment when we start to see whether Allegri has really managed to get into his head and whether Allegri has really managed to get him to give his best.”
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“I don’t think it’s always about effort. I think we look at it sometimes as either a player puts in the effort and gets involved, or he doesn’t and doesn’t do it. I don’t think he’s like that.”
Leao is no longer a child – things have to work out for him this season
“I think the psychology is much more complicated and Rafa Leao has been through a lot in his career.”
“But the fact is, he’s not a child anymore. They’ve invested a lot in him, both financially and in other ways in terms of support, as we’ve said. And that’s the point where he has to start paying them back.”
“This is a season where he will get a lot of R&R, unlike many of his contemporaries.”
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“He will rest and recover in the weeks between league games because they are not in Europe.”
“So this is a great opportunity for him under a disciplined coach who demands discipline and commitment.”
“If it doesn’t work for Rafa Leao this season, I don’t know in what European context or in what European club context it will work for him.”
“He has to be the player this season that he was when he was MVP in Serie A.”