Leao makes worrying admission after Feyenoord loss: “We didn’t show the same determination they did” | OneFootball

Rafael Leao has made the rather worrying admission that AC Milan failed to match the ‘determination’ that their hosts Feyenoord had in tonight’s defeat.

Milan have left themselves with a lot of hard work to do in the second leg as they were beaten 1-0 at De Kuip this evening, with the opening goal coming from Igor Paixao’s shot from range just a few minutes in.

The Rossoneri saw plenty of the ball but ultimately were unable to break their hosts down, while in the first half they seemed to struggle to cope with both the intensity Feyenoord showed and the weather conditions that the two sides were battling.

One player in particular who had a frustrating night was Leao, who felt he should have had a penalty in the first half but generally struggled to impact the game. He spoke to Prime Video at full-time, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

What didn’t work?

“We didn’t show the same determination and aggression that they did. We weren’t at the level of this match, I also had an opportunity in the first half that I couldn’t take advantage of. Now we have to go home, rest and see what we didn’t do well today.

“We have the second match at San Siro with our fans. They were helped by their fans. We didn’t play a good match, we have to rest and rectify today’s mistakes.”

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Did you have any physical problems?

“We don’t make excuses. We had to show their same aggression and win all the duels. Now the match is over, we have to think again and think about the next one.”

What do you need in the return leg?

“On the return leg we need to have the right attitude for an important Champions League match, which we didn’t do today. If we do this, with our quality, we’ll win the match.”