GdS: ‘Now or never’ – why Dinamo Zagreb game is a ‘crossroads’ for Leao and Theo | OneFootball

AC Milan will take to the field at the Stadion Maksimir tonight hoping to book a spot in the top eight of the Champions League, but they will need two stars to do it.

As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes, tonight represents a big ‘crossroads’ in Milan’s season and for some of the its protagonists. The Rossoneri can return to Europe’s elite, and they will be able to get answers from Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez.

A man in form

It is Leao’s best Champions League season, but not the best moment if you consider the substitution at half-time in the match against Parma. It is a change that was expected for physical reasons and which for this reason did not sadden him, as shown by his celebrations for Chukwueze’s winner.

In Europe he has scored three games in a row against Slovan Bratislava, Red Star and Girona. There is an ambitious target: the last Rossoneri capable of going past a similar positive streak was Ibra (five goals in a row) in 2011-12.

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The Maksimir evokes sweet memories: his first away goal in the competition was there back on 25 October 2022 when he surged through on goal and finished well, to open the scoring in an eventual 4-0 win.

Having recovered his condition to the fullest, Leao will seek an encore. When Milan made its mark in the great Europe, he was there and contributed: the devastating performance against Napoli en-route to the semi-final, the comeback victory over PSG and the win against Real Madrid.

If the Rossoneri get into the last 16, Leao’s goals will have contributed. This time Rafa found a partner on the opposite side of the field given that Christian Pulisic has also netted three times in the current edition of the tournament.

Few European teams have two wingers like them: they have the same combined goals as Salah and Luis Diaz, one less than Correa and Griezmann of Atletico, and one less than Adeyemi and Bynoe-Gittens of Dortmund.

A wake-up call

Unlike Leao, Theo’s day against Parma ended at half-time due to a bad performance. He then remained wrapped up in his jacket and sunk into his spot on the bench, though he did do his bit at full-time to stop Conceicao getting to Calabria.

The left-back organised a dinner last Thursday evening in the centre of Milan as a way to share at the table the satisfaction and gratitude towards his team-mates for hitting thirty goals scored in Serie A, and surpassing Paolo Madlini.

In Serie A Theo is a record holder for the club, and in the Champions League? He has gone 32 games without a goal, continuing the theme of the season. Paulo Fonseca never got the best out of him, and Conceiçao has not yet managed to either, at least consistently.

In this difficult moment, Hernandez will play as a starter tonight in Zagreb. For Milan it is a do or die, but it is also a bit for Theo. The left wing has no other tenants, and the keys until the end of the season can remain with him. However, there are fresh doubts about the renewal of his deal.