Due to various physical problems, Allegri was only able to deploy his two key attackers twice from the first minute (five in total). When the stalemate is broken, it will be one of the Devil’s additional weapons. Max: “We need both 100%”
Journalist
December 29 – 11.03pm – MILANO
That moment will come sooner or later. Which? The moment Christian Pulisic will go to the hole assisted by Rafa Leao, or vice versa. We just need to understand whether it will be more “sooner” or more “later”. Because every week that passes always seems like it could be the good one and then every time something happens that messes up the plans. At the moment, among other things, the main objective would not even be that of scoring in tandem but simply the pleasure – or rather, the necessity – of seeing them start a match together. It didn’t happen against Verona either because Leao wasn’t called up, considering that the inflammation in his adductor is still causing him problems. Allegri also made a point after the match: “We take one step at a time, we need to recover all the players, we need Leao to return to 100%. Even Pulisic is not yet at 100%”.
competition
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Welcome to the home of the most awaited (and least present) couple in the Rossoneri world. For many, if not for all – starting with the coach – the ideal attacking duo. The designated one, the most unpredictable one, the potentially most devastating one. The one that, if and when it is finally usable without any plasters to slow it down, will have no reason to fear competition and new faces from the market. The problem is that Rafa and Chris up until now have basically remained just a project drawn on the drawing board. A couple in draft form. The sharing always remains stuck at the misery of 135 minutes: 17 with Bari in the Italian Cup; 11 with Juve, 20 with Parma and 78 with Inter in the league; 9 with Lazio in the Italian Cup. Since the Olimpico, or since 4 December, the pairing has always remained separate. We are stuck at five games in total.
one trouble after another
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Are you starting from the beginning? Only two: Bari and derby. The rest are clips in progress and in any case neither of them has yet managed to benefit from their teammate in front of goal. To be the theoretical seasonal reference couple, being at the end of December, the dish is crying. The fact is that bad luck hit both of them a lot, causing the tandem to end up in one hole after another. Because if Leao hadn’t been injured after a quarter of an hour with Bari, we would almost certainly be telling a different story. The calf strain kept the Portuguese out for about a month and a half, that is, five games. When Rafa returned, Allegri preferred Gimenez next to Pulisic for a couple of games, and then there was no way to indulge in who knows what reflections because the American got hurt: out for three weeks (four games) with a muscle injury. Then Christian missed another match due to fatigue (Lazio in the championship) and finally Leao returned to the doctor for an adductor inflammation, which excluded him from Sassuolo and the Super Cup and also kept him out of Hellas. And so the tandem remains parked there, outside the Milanello clubhouse, waiting to finally be loaded into the trunk of the Rossoneri bus.
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