Goncalo Ramos will lead the Milan line at Juventus on Sunday night, with the chance to turn his opening contributions into a defining performance.
The Portuguese striker arrived to be the focal point of the attack, and after breaking the deadlock against Venezia he keeps the No.9 role for a fixture that tends to expose or vindicate a big signing. Tuttosport frame Sunday as one of those nights when the size of the cheque written for a player starts to be answered on the pitch.
The backdrop is a run Milan want ended. The Rossoneri have not won at Juventus since 28 May 2023, when Olivier Giroud met Davide Calabria's cross with a header to settle the game. Since then it has been two goalless draws and a 2-0 defeat on 18 January last year.
Ruben Amorim knows what the trip carries even on matchday three, and he needs Ramos to convert whatever service arrives, with chances likely to be scarce. That puts the focus squarely on the striker, who is expected to take over as Milan's primary penalty taker.
His first 180 minutes as a league starter told two different stories, per Tuttosport. Against Torino the supply was thin and he spent the night duelling with Ismajili, dragging a marker away to open space for others. Against Venezia the chances came, and he finally took one.
How much Ramos gets to work with depends on the pairing Amorim picks behind him in the attacking midfield roles. So far it has been Alphadjo Cisse alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but Adrien Rabiot could feature there from the start on Sunday, having filled the position in the second half against Torino.
Christian Pulisic, Alexis Saelemaekers and Omari Hutchinson, signed specifically to play inverted on the right, are all options in reserve. Ramos stays the fixed point of the attack regardless of who lines up around him.
The chances may be few at Juventus, so whether Ramos leaves his mark rests on taking the one that comes, exactly as Giroud did more than two years ago.