Steve McManaman has claimed during BT Sport’s coverage of Chelsea vs AC Milan that Rafael Leao was lacking the defensive work against the Blues last night.
A lot of eyes were on the 23-year-old during yesterday’s game, with wide speculation that Chelsea are keen on signing him in a big-money deal.
Given the tough task of taking on an inspired Reece James at right wing-back for the Blues, the Portuguese international certainly showed glimmers of his fantastic ability, looking the most dangerous Milan man on the pitch by some way.
This is despite the England international’s brilliance up against him, with James certainly coming out on top following his goal and assist in the second half of the 3-0 win.
While McManaman was no doubt impressed with the attacking capabilities of Leao, his work-rate frustrated the former Liverpool and Real Madrid man.
McManaman criticises Leao
He said: “There’s no doubting his talent, Leao, but look at his work-rate. Look at him now. He’s walking! He’s got no interest in going the other way.”
Traditionally in the Premier League, the current wingers are expected to work hard in and out of possession, as clubs are trying to win the ball back higher up the pitch in order to launch counter attacks.
The best example of this is perhaps at Chelsea, with Raheem Sterling’s work-rate on full display again last night.
If Chelsea do make a move for Leao in an upcoming transfer window, they may be expecting a bit more in terms of defensive work to combine with his devastating attacking ability.
With the Blues set to visit the San Siro in less than a week, they will be safe in the knowledge that Milan will come out to attack, relying on Leao for the majority of their threat.
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