Why Milan stars Leao and Theo will go to the bench against Cagliari

La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport report Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez will start on the bench against Cagliari tonight as Stefano Pioli hasn’t seen the right attitude from the pair over the last few weeks.

Pioli will make significant changes to the Rossoneri line-up tonight, given that Theo, Leao and even Fikayo Tomori are set to start on the bench against Cagliari.

Saturday’s printed edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport on page 11 wrote that Pioli will ‘punish’ Milan big players probably due to their attitude and poor performances over the last few weeks.

Tomori caused a penalty kick in the previous round against Genoa and contributed to Malick Thiaw’s own goal in the final minutes.

Why Milan stars Leao and Theo will go to the bench against Cagliari

Theo and Leao were just as disappointing against the Grifone and the Portuguese star was even booed by fans when subbed off.

‘Tonight’s decisions are a warning for the future,’ wrote journalist Luca Bianchin.

‘Leao, in particular, must reflect, as he’s almost 25 and it still feels like he’s only using 50% of his potential.’

The Gazzetta journalist noted that Pioli has often chosen a soft approach with the Portuguese star this season but ‘one would argue what would have happened if Milan were a little tougher with Rafa.’

Leao has only scored seven Serie A goals this season and has been too inconsistent, leading to Pioli’s decision to leave him on the bench tonight.

According to Gazzetta, Theo’s omission from the starting XI could mean the France international is more likely to leave in the summer, possibly joining Bayern Munich.

Both Tuttosport on page 17 and Gazzetta reported that tension at Milanello has been higher than usual this week and the Turin-based paper added that Leao had previously not been included in the starting XI this season only for rotations and never for technical or tactical reasons.