Sparkling Leao hailed after Milan beat PSG

Stefano Pioli said that Rafael Leao could be a world-beater after the inconsistent Portugal winger outshone Kylian Mbappe in AC Milan’s 2-1 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
Leao drew Milan level with an acrobatic overhead kick and terrorised the PSG defence every time he had the ball while France star Mbappe struggled to get into a thrilling game at the San Siro. Tuesday’s stellar performance came in stark contrast to recent underwhelming displays and helped reignite Milan’s hopes of making it out of Group F.
He put his finger to his lips as a gesture of defiance against criticism of his efforts in a poor run of form for him and the team as a whole which has left Milan six points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan. “Rafa needs to have another look at his display tonight because how he performs is only down to him,” Pioli told reporters. “A lot of what he has was given to him by his parents with the talent he has, and he showed tonight that he has a huge amount of quality. If we all play with that same intensity we can have a lot of success.”
Milan started the day bottom of the group with a zero in the goals scored column but are now right back in contention for the last 16 as they trail second-placed PSG by a single point. Olivier Giroud headed Milan’s winner early in the second half.
Pioli’s players looked comfortable in the biggest match of their season and fully deserved their win, bouncing back from a dismal home defeat by Udinese at the weekend. “This was the sort of reaction that I expected because I know my players, I know this group. They performed so well, with fantastic attitude,” added Pioli. “We did what we needed to do... now we need to try to become more consistent. Tonight’s win gives us a better chance and the match with Dortmund will be decisive.”
PSG coach Luis Enrique lamented a “lack of control” on the part of his players, likening the contest more to a tennis match than a game of football. “We had chances, we attacked, maybe we helped make the match be crazy, we should have played a football match, not a tennis match,” he said. “This is the Champions League, the highest level. Sometimes you can be in front and other times it’s the other team. Either team could have won tonight.”
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was met with an extremely hostile reception from Milan fans who fully took the chance to barrack their former idol with insulting chants and fake dollar bills depicting him as a mercenary for leaving for PSG as a free agent.
However he didn’t seem fazed by the wave of abuse and pulled off a great late save from Noah Okafor to keep PSG in the game right until the last. “He has experience and heart, we knew what kind of match this would be,” added Luis Enrique. “Football is passion, we have a great level in the squad, great players, and he had a good game.”
Man City, Leipzig into last 16
Elsewhere on Tuesday, holders Manchester City and RB Leipzig became the first teams to reach the last 16 of this season’s Champions League on Tuesday while Danylo Sikan’s goal allowed Shakhtar Donetsk to claim a stunning win over Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions have eased into the knockout phase with a perfect record, a 3-0 win over Young Boys making it four wins out of four in Group G. Erling Haaland followed his brace in Bern two weeks ago with another two goals against the Swiss side, with the Norwegian striker opening the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first half.
Phil Foden got their second in first-half stoppage time and Haaland struck again soon after the interval for his 15th goal of the campaign. Young Boys were then reduced to 10 men as Sandro Lauper was sent off, and City saw out a 10th successive home victory in the competition.
Leipzig joined City in securing progress from Group G thanks to their 2-1 victory at Red Star Belgrade. Xavi Simons gave the German side an early lead with a lovely finish into the far corner, and Lois Openda made it 2-0 in the rain in Belgrade with his 10th goal this season.
Former European Cup winners Red Star pulled one back through a Benjamin Henrichs own goal but they are now left to fight it out with Young Boys for a place in the Europa League knockout phase. Barcelona could have booked their last-16 ticket with a win over Shakhtar but instead the Ukrainian club kept their own hopes alive with a famous 1-0 victory in Hamburg. Sikan, the 22-year-old forward, headed in the only goal of the Group H game late in the first half and Shakhtar held on.
Atletico Madrid top Group E after crushing 10-man Celtic 6-0 in Spain to record their biggest win in the modern Champions League.
Antoine Griezmann grabbed an early opener and Celtic then had Daizen Maeda sent off midway through the first half.
Alvaro Morata made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time and Griezmann made it three on the hour mark. Samuel Lino got the fourth with a stunning strike, Morata lashed in the fifth for his second, and Saul Niguez completed the scoring. Lazio beat Feyenoord 1-0 in the same section thanks to Ciro Immobile’s 200th goal for the club.