Leao’s race manifesto is all in the first forty minutes. The AC Milan player, making his European debut with Portugal, has such a great desire to do well. He reaches out to the left, calls for the ball, aims at the man continuously, moving away from the marking. The first attempt hits, off the left-handed out, the second as well, then slowly it is doubled and understood. Against the Czech Republic Rafa lasted just half an hour. And in the 39th minute he received a yellow card for simulation. A clumsy and unsuccessful attempt to get a foul from the edge. The referee didn’t fall for it: he was booked.
so so
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The rating says it all: 5.5. A sort of “I would like but I can’t”, of “I try but it doesn’t work”. A halfway debut. Good in the first thirty minutes, with two dribbles and as many crosses in the center of the area, then nothing more until the substitution. Martinez called him back to the bench in the 63rd minute to bring in Diogo Jota, a tad more proactive than him: he scored the temporary 2-1 goal, which was later canceled out due to Ronaldo’s offside. In the end, Francisco Conceicao, Sergio’s son, scored three minutes from the end. And the third national team match.
negative numbers
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Leao has started nine of Portugal’s last ten matches. In three of the last four, excluding the Czech Republic, he was substituted at half-time, only finding the net against Sweden in mid-March. Martinez considers him more or less a starter, he has always trusted him, but the performance against the Czech Republic was insufficient. The numbers say it: in 63 minutes he completed just one dribble, lost 11 balls and missed 5 passes. He arrives at the European Championship after a fluctuating year with Milan: 15 goals and 14 assists on the scoresheet in the championship and cups, but in Serie A he spent almost five months scoring. Martinez gave him the starting shirt next to Ronaldo, but against Turkey he could rest. Conceicao and Jota are champing at the bit. Martinez will have to decide.
