Leao: ‘I don’t like sitting on the bench’, but Fonseca says ‘he understands it’ | OneFootball

Rafael Leao told reporters he doesn’t ‘like sitting on the bench’ after being left out of the starting line-up for the 3-2 win away against Slovan Bratislava, but says that he is ready to do whatever the coach asks of him, while Fonseca says that the Portugal international ‘understood’ the decision.

Noah Okafor lined up on the left wing in Leao’s absence on Tuesday night, but the Portuguese was called for at half-time and then got himself on the scoresheet just over 20 minutes later.

epa11742242 Rafael Leao (R) of AC Milan scores the 1-2 lead against goalkepeer Dominik Takac (L) of Bratislava during the UEFA Champions League match between Slovan Bratislava and AC Milan in Bratislava, Slovakia, 26 November 2024. EPA-EFE/JAKUB GAVLAK

Goals from Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham also helped the Rossoneri on their way to a hard-fought victory.

“In my opinion, I think this game could have ended with even more goals given what we created,” Leao told Sky Sport Italia while analysing his team’s performance.

“We needed to be more aggressive in front of goal. They had confidence at home, but in the end we created more. We deserved the victory.

“We have a lot of games and not a lot of recovery time. We have to be more aggressive and not leave certain opportunities hanging. You have to come in and win in this competition and show the opposition that you can do it from start to finish.”

Leao: ‘I don’t like sitting on the bench’

Though he insists that ‘everything has been resolved’ with Fonseca, he reminded the coach that he isn’t satisfied starting among the substitutes.

“Everything has been resolved. Fonseca knows that I don’t like sitting on the bench, but if he decides otherwise, I’m always ready for my team. I’m happy, the coach is doing a good job and we want to understand his ideas even more. Results will come with time.”

Fonseca, meanwhile, insisted during his post-match interview that Leao knows why he was not selected as a starter against Slovan Bratislava, but claims that he ‘understood’ the call.

“I always talk with Rafa, he knows why he didn’t play today. He understood, and when he came on he was decisive. I think that’s what we all want. I’m happy. Even when he’s on the bench he always wants to help the team and that’s really positive.”