Stefano Pioli said that Rafael Leao could be a world-beater after the inconsistent Portugal winger outshone Kylian Mbappe in AC Milan’s 2-1 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Leao equalized for Milan with an acrobatic overhead kick and terrorized the PSG defense every time he had the ball, while France’s Mbappe struggled to get into a thrilling game at the San Siro.
Tuesday’s outstanding performance stood in stark contrast to Milan’s recent underwhelming performances, and it rekindled the club’s hopes of progressing from Group F.
He put his finger to his lips in defiance of criticism of his efforts during Milan’s poor run of form, which has left them six points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
“Rafa needs to have another look at his display tonight because how he performs is only down to him,” Pioli told reporters.
“A lot of what he has was given to him by his parents with the talent he has, and he showed tonight that he has a huge amount of quality.
“If we all play with that same intensity we can have a lot of success.”
Milan began the day bottom of the group with zero goals scored, but they are now just one point behind second-placed PSG in the race for the last 16.
“We get unconditional support from the fans even if things are difficult in the league,” said Olivier Giroud, who headed Milan’s winner early in the second half.
“This win gets the group going again… it does us a lot of good.”
Pioli’s players looked at ease in the biggest match of their season, and they fully deserved to win after suffering a humiliating home defeat to Udinese the previous weekend.
“I expected this kind of reaction because I know my players and this group.” “They did a fantastic job with a great attitude,” Pioli added.
“We did what needed to be done… now we need to work on being more consistent.” The victory tonight gives us a better chance, and the match against Dortmund will be decisive.”
‘More tennis than football’
Luis Enrique bemoaned his players’ “lack of control,” comparing the game to a tennis match rather than a football game.
“We had chances, we attacked, maybe we helped make the match be crazy, we should have played a football match, not a tennis match,” he went on to say.
“This is the Champions League at its pinnacle. Sometimes you’re ahead, and sometimes the other team is. Tonight, either team could have won.”
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was met with an extremely hostile reception from Milan fans who fully took the chance to barrack their former idol with insulting chants and fake dollar bills depicting him as a mercenary for leaving for PSG as a free agent.
However he didn’t seem fazed by the wave of abuse and pulled off a great late save from Noah Okafor to keep PSG in the game right until the last.
“He has experience and heart, we knew what kind of match this would be,” added Luis Enrique.
“Football is passion, we have a great level in the squad, great players, and he had a good game.”
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