Rafael Leao was on media duties ahead of AC Milan's UEFA Champions League meeting with Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night.

The Portuguese winger had so much to say on several topics involving the Rossonerri, most especially the threats awaiting them in Victor Boniface and other crop of talents at the disposal of their opponent, Bayer Leverkusen in their crucial European meeting.

Victor Boniface and Bayer Leverkusen have been at the top of the food chain in European football since the start of last season, winning the Bundesliga unbeaten and completing a domestic double.

Xabi Alonso's side also reached the final of the Europa League last season before losing 3-0 to Atalanta in Dublin, courtesy of an Ademola Lookman hat-trick.

Leverkusen lost their unbeaten status to RB Leipzig a few weeks ago and have since recovered, winning three straight games before their 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich during the weekend, which saw them achieve their longest unbeaten run of games against the Bavarians, four.

AC Milan knows they have a difficult task against the Bundesliga side who has suffered just one loss at the Bay Arena since May last year, but Rafael Leao believes they know what to do to stop the German team.

The 25-year-old also added that they have been warned by a teammate, Samuel Chukwueze, who knows a thing or two about their dangerman.

Samuel Chukwueze warns teammates of Super Eagles star 

Responding to questions in the pre-match press conference, Portuguese winger Rafael Leao confirmed they've talked about Victor Boniface, who is leading the line for their opponent.

“Yeah, I know him, he’s teammates in the Nigerian national team with Chukwueze. He was talking about him this week, and he’s very technical and fast,and we know we need to watch out for him. We need to watch out for the entire team, because the centre backs, the full backs; Frimpong and Grimaldo, and the entire team play very well and it’ll be a difficult game.

But of course, Boniface ,we respect his ability, but I think we’re prepared to face him,” the 25-year-old said concluded.

Victor Boniface has been directly involved in 35 goals in 41 appearances since his move to the Bundesliga champions at the start of last season. Four goals and one assist have come in seven games this season.

Bayer Leverkusen boasts a lot of stars aside from Boniface, and the best of them all can easily be Florian Wirtz, the young German who was named the best player in the Bundesliga last season while also securing a steady place on the Germany national team.

There are the full-backs, Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo as acknowledged by Leao—Granit Xhaka, Robert Andrich, and of course the pilot of their affairs, Xabi Alonso.

AC Milan under Paulo Fonseca 

AC Milan does have dangerous players of their own to cause trouble for Bayer Leverkusen and Rafael Leao tops that list. Christian Pulisic and others have also hit the ground running this season.

It has been a missed start to life under new manager Paulo Fonseca but their last four games, which have produced three wins, have birthed reasons for optimism, and it is the momentum they'll look to build upon in the coming days.

Milan surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose 3-1 at home to Liverpool in round one of the UEFA Champions League this season. This is an opportunity to earn their first win in the competition this season, and in their way is a team who won 4-0 at Feyenoord last time out in Europe.

Rafael Leao On Becoming A Leader in Milan 

Rafael Leao captained the team in their 3-0 win over Lecce on Friday night. He expressed the pride and added sense of responsibility of wearing the armband in an interview.

 “I’m always proud to be AC Milan captain”.

“I’ve been here for six years and I always feel the responsibility, but when I’m captain even more”.

In his sixth season with the Italian giants, Rafael Leao has established himself as one of the best wingers in the world today. He has been directly involved in more than a century of goals for the Rossonerri, led them to the Scuddetto in 2022, ending a run of eleven years without winning the league.

Despite numerous interests from top clubs, the 2022 Serie A MVP extended his contract at Milan until 2028 last year, showing his commitment to taking the club to places. Speaking to Sky Italia in March, the former Lille forward said;

“I’m under contract at AC Milan, I don’t know my future yet but Milan is my home. This club helped me to improve and I’m happy here. I want to win something important at Milan”.

His love for the club us unquestionable and recent transfer moves by the Rossonerri is slowly restoring the back to his face after the club regressed following their Scuddetto success in 2022.

His bromance with Samuel Chukwueze and now Christian Pulisic brings so much joy to fans in San Siro. Milan has scored 14 goals in the Serie A this season, more than any other team in the competition.

In Leao, there is hope for Milan as they look to return to the days of consistency and continuous success. But before the talks about the long-term, the meeting with Leverkusen tonight is a priority, as they look for their first points in Europe this season.

Bayer Leverkusen - AC Milan Head to Head 

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. AC Milan, though, has a superior record against German teams in the UEFA Champions League, with seven wins and only three losses in their 16 games. Six others have ended in draws.

As for tonight's host, they boast only two wins out of 12 against Italian teams in the competition, losing six times. The good news for Leverkusen is that their two wins have come at home.

Heading into tonight's game, Milan is currently positioned third in the Serie A with 11 points from six games while Leverkusen is placed fourth after five in the Bundesliga with 10 points, as well as their first domestic loss since the start of last season.

Prediction 

Both Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan have scored in all of their games this season so expect both teams to find the back of the net. Leverkusen also has the edge over Milan in this fixture so have a higher probability of emerging victorious. However, an evenly contested clash is to be anticipated.