Milan v Lecce: bittersweet for ex-Sporting star Rafael Leão | OneFootball

Milan beat Lecce 3-0 and advanced to the next stage of the Italian Cup. The match was bittersweet for Rafael Leão because, despite the rossoneri's victory, the forward trained at Sporting was again left out of the squad due to injury.

The match began with a great attacking ascendancy on the part of the home team, which had an easier task at the 18th minute. Jamil Siebert was sent off and left Milan with a numerical advantage, with Santiago Giménez scoring the 1-0 shortly after (20').

In the second half, the offensive rhythm of the team led by Massimiliano Allegri continued and Christopher Nkunku doubled the lead at the 51'. At 63, Christian Pulisic also inscribed his name on the scorers list, after a pass from Youssouf Fofana.

In the 2024/25 season, his sixth with Milan, Rafael Leão - valued at 70 million euros - played a total of 50 games for the rossonero team. Over the 3,500 minutes played, the former Sporting scored 12 goals and also made 11 assists.

Rafael Leão made his debut in the main team of Sporting in the 2017/18 season, by decision of Jorge Jesus. In that game, the now Portuguese international scored a goal in the Classic against Porto, at the Dragão Stadium. His stay at the Alvalade Club did not end in the best way, as in the summer of 2018, he unilaterally terminated his contract with the greens and whites, after the attack on the Academy, signing for Lille at no cost.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.