Today’s edition of Tuttosport talks about the comparison between AC Milan star Rafael Leao and arguably the best player in the world at the moment in Kylian Mbappé.
The paper (via PianetaMilan) compare the stats of the two, starting with the goals scored. Leao netted a brace against Lecce that took him to 12 in the league, 13 for the season overall, while Mbappe is on 22 in Ligue 1 and 34 in the entire 2022-23 season.
If you then look at his career, well, the gap becomes enormous: for Leao 60 goals across club and national team while for Mbappé he is on 274. It must be said that their roles are not exactly the same, but Mbappe too started as a winger and gradually transformed into a mobile centre-forward.
In doing so the PSG star increased his goal tally and his incisiveness in the penalty area which is what Stefano Pioli has been thinking of doing with Leao for some time, so much so that we have already seen it happen.
When the team were struggling at the start of 2023 and he changed to a three-man defence, Pioli put the former Lille man in a more central role but in truth he appeared out of his comfort zone.
As soon as Milan returned to a 4-2-3-1 formation, Leao returned to doing what he does best: beating men on the dribble and attacking the box from wide areas.
What about Mbappé? While the gap in stats might be big, the Frenchman shouldn’t be considered a rival but an example to follow. If the Portuguese wants to become a real top player, he will have to improve his scoring numbers just as Kylian did.
