Football Italia
·16 November 2024
Football Italia
·16 November 2024
Three Milan attackers enjoyed encouraging performances in Nations League fixtures over the last two nights, as Rafael Leao looked back to his best against Portugal, Alvaro Morata recovered from his recent head injury, while Christian Pulisic laid on the only assist for the USA’s 1-0 win over Jamaica.
Though Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines with his bicycle kick and brace, Leao was arguably the star of the show as Portugal recorded a 5-1 victory over Poland.
The 25-year-old was given ratings as high as 9/10 in the press, and ran practically the length of the pitch to open the scoring 15 minutes into the second half.
Morata, meanwhile, showed that there is no longer any cause for concern after his recent trip to hospital. The EURO 2024 winner was taken for an MRI scan after a nasty collision with Strahinja Pavlovic in Milan training before the international break, but appeared off the bench as Spain rose to a 2-1 victory away against Denmark on Friday night.
Pulisic, meanwhile, laid on the only assist of the game during the USMNT’s 1-0 victory away against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals.
The USA have previously struggled away against teams from north or central America, but new coach Mauricio Pochettino now has as many away wins against CONCACAF opposition as his predecessor Gregg Berhalter did during his three years in charge.