"Leon! Leon! Leon!"
When Leon walked onto the pitch hand in hand with a young mascot, the whole of San Siro erupted with his name.
It was genuinely a remarkable sight.
After all, during AC Milan's peak years, what kind of star had they not seen?
But this season was truly different.
In the first half of the season, even the most devoted AC Milan supporters had quietly accepted that the club was in decline.
The squad was simply awful.
And Inzaghi was a rookie manager.
All that had remained was sentiment.
Who could have imagined that when the second half of the season began and Leon arrived, the entire character of AC Milan would be transformed?
Even someone who knew nothing about football could see how important Leon was to this AC Milan side.
The Serie A clean sheet record he was about to break was proof enough.
In that context, it was no surprise that Leon was being cheered on by the home supporters at San Siro.
Though in the eyes of some AC Milan legends, that kind of reception was a little beneath the dignity of a club of this stature.
After all, Leon was still nothing more than a rookie barely into his professional career.
Leon waved to the supporters in the stands and the cheer grew even louder.
Compared to where he had started, Leon's progress across just ten matches had been extraordinary.
Wearing the captain's armband also gave him a greater presence the moment he set foot on the pitch.
Before this match, Leon had poured points into his [Vision] attribute.
[Vision]: 5 to 10!
250 system points spent.
The 258 system points he had accumulated through matches and training were now down to just 8.
System points were always in desperately short supply for Leon.
A [Vision] value of 10 was not especially high, but it was enough for Leon to begin playing some long passes to help build play from the back.
That way the [Long Pass Master] badge would not go to waste.
Lazio's head coach Stefano Pioli had prepared thoroughly for AC Milan, which was perfectly reasonable, but who could have anticipated that Leon, a goalkeeper, was continuing to evolve with every single match?
"Hmph! Dad! Leon is holding another kid's hand!"
"He's a traitor!"
Up in the stands, little Devin George saw Leon walking out with a different young mascot and immediately felt a pang of jealousy, pouting adorably.
"Ha! Devin! You're the one and only!"
Dave George was thoroughly amused by Devin's logic.
Five-year-old Devin George was absolutely precious in that moment.
The match kicked off.
Stefano Pioli set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
His style leaned towards attacking football, though not as extreme as Inzaghi's.
In truth, in the eyes of most managers, Inzaghi's tactics this season were complete madness with no tactical framework whatsoever.
Yet somehow AC Milan were charging straight towards a top-three finish in Serie A.
There was nothing anyone could say; they could only swallow their frustration.
Four defenders: Radu, Canà, De Vrij, Cavanda.
Five midfielders: Parolo, Biglia, Keita Baldé, Maurí, Candreva.
One forward: Klose.
Goalkeeper: Berisha.
For this match, Inzaghi made a small adjustment to the AC Milan lineup, dropping the poorly performing Muntari from the previous match and bringing in De Jong.
But how to put it about AC Milan's midfielders this season?
Not one of them was fit for purpose.
Think back to the days when AC Milan's midfield had four number tens: Rui Costa, Seedorf, Rivaldo, and Pirlo.
Then look at what they had now.
AC Milan supporters felt like weeping.
Four defenders: Abate, Lami, Mexes, De Sciglio.
Three midfielders: Essien, De Jong, Menez.
Three forwards: Suso, Torres, Bonaventura.
Goalkeeper: Leon.
"Dad! The match has started!"
Little Devin George called out and then fixed his full attention on the pitch.
Devin's seat for this match was excellent.
Thanks to Hachim Mastour's help, the father and son had ended up with a superb view.
AC Milan kicked off.
From the first touch they pushed straight forward with no hesitation whatsoever.
After so many matches of this, the AC Milan players were brimming with confidence.
Just drive forward and the goal is in safe hands with Leon.
Watching AC Milan charge forward from the very start, Stefano Pioli on the touchline raised an eyebrow.
Going all out from the off, trying to seize the initiative?
In the 3rd minute, Menez lashed a shot over the bar.
In the 5th minute, Suso cut the ball across to Torres in the centre and Torres blazed it over.
In the opening five minutes AC Milan's home performance was full of intent, forcing Lazio's defensive line back to the edge of their own penalty area.
Aside from Klose, every single Lazio outfield player had dropped back to defend.
"They're brilliant!"
"I had no idea AC Milan were this strong!"
Up in the stands, young Devin George, who had not watched AC Milan before, could not help but exclaim.
"AC Milan have been genuinely good since Leon arrived."
Dave George ruffled Devin's hair and smiled.
He clearly knew a great deal more about what AC Milan's season had looked like.
In the 7th minute, Menez drove hard through the centre.
Old habits around holding the ball do not disappear overnight.
Lazio defender De Vrij, whose future market value would reach 50 million euros, slid his right foot in and dispossessed Menez cleanly.
But AC Milan's press up front was ferocious.
Suso came charging hard at De Vrij.
Backed into a corner, De Vrij was a defender after all, and he went for the safest option: a big clearance upfield.
The clearance had real force behind it and the ball sailed well past the halfway line.
AC Milan's entire defensive line had pushed beyond halfway.
Mexes was about to drop back to bring the ball under control when he suddenly saw that Leon had already burst out of the penalty area and brought it down neatly.
Right, no need then.
Mexes relaxed immediately and moved close to Leon to offer a passing option.
At that very moment, Keita Baldé suddenly burst across the halfway line and came sprinting straight at Leon.
His explosive acceleration and pace brought him closing in at high speed.
'He'll definitely play it short to Mexes nearby.'
Keita Baldé was thinking on the run, his mind working just as fast as his legs, weighing up whether there was a chance to press Leon into a mistake and win the ball directly.
As it turned out, Keita Baldé had been thinking too much.
Leon gave him no chance to get close at all.
A quick scan of the pitch, a glimpse of Torres making a forward run, and Leon struck a long pass immediately, sending the ball ahead of Torres into space.
The [Long Pass Master] badge combined with a [Passing] attribute of 15 was enough for Leon to deliver a long ball of very high quality.
The pass was so sudden it clearly caught Lazio's defensive line completely off guard.
Even Torres had not expected it.
But the instincts of a once top-class striker were still there, and Torres burst forward over a short distance and got to the ball.
"Bang!"
Torres met it first time and shot.
Was it in?
He blazed it over.
Torres was a full ten Golden Boy Awards short of his peak.
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