Milan coach Paulo Fonseca has given his reasons for benching Rafael Leao for the second straight Serie A match, explaining how he thinks it could motivate the Portugal international after Tuesday night’s 2-0 defeat at home against Napoli.

Fonseca decided not to include Leao in his starting line-up, instead giving a chance to Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze on the wings. There was also no Christian Pulisic in the starting line-up, because he was suffering from a flu attack.

Fonseca explains Leao’s absence and ‘motivation’

Fonseca explained that he uses a number of different tactics to motivate his players, but ultimately it is their responsibility to ensure they are in the right frame of mind to play.

He also stressed that there is no direct confrontation between himself and the player, despite leaving him out of the starting line-up for two league matches.

“I don’t want to go into small details, I deal with each player differently,” Fonseca said during his post-match press conference on Tuesday following the 2-0 defeat to Napoli.

“There is no conflict between us, it is just the coach’s decision. We try to motivate the players in different ways, but it’s up to the players to put in the right amount of dedication, I don’t have to beg them.”