Rafael Leao smiles as he runs past defence for stunning assist in perfect response to racists

The Milan forward starred in the 2-1 aggregate victory to send them through in the all-Italian quarter-final.

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Before the game, footage emerged outside the Milan hotel of Stefano Pioli's men boarding the bus to boos from Napoli supporters who had gathered outside.

Cries of 'Negro' and m chants were also heard as Leao emerged from the hotel and made his way to the bus.

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To his credit, the 23-year-old rose above the abuse as he raised a smile and laughed as he continued walking.

This incident comes less than two weeks after an incident involving Romelu Lukaku in which he was sent off for responding to abuse suffered during Inter Milan's clash with Juventus.

Leao did well not to let the incident bother him as he made an electric start at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

As well as winning a penalty which Olivier Giroud had saved, Leao consistently caused problems for Napoli.

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Running 70 yards down the pitch with the ball, the forward then squared for Giroud who put Milan 1-0 up on the night to give them a commanding 2-0 lead in the tie.

So good was his assist, the Portugal international appeared to sprint away to celebrate himself.

One fan even likened it to a prime Ruud Gullit dancing his way through defences in Milan's previous European winning team of the 1980s.

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Shown a clip of Gullit's magic, also against Napoli, he smiled as he had done when he weaved his way through the defence earlier on.

"I always try to take opponents on and run at them, I know I can make the difference like that. If I am unable to score a goal, I seek out my colleagues, so I got past two, saw Giroud and I knew he could finish it off."

This season Leao has scored 11 goals and recorded nine assists, while he has been linked with moves to the Premier League with Arsenal and Man City said to be interested.

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"I am very happy to be here, it's what I always say, it is an honour to defend this jersey. There are no words for the people who work with me every day to become a better player. I did well in Serie A last season and wanted to show what I could do in the Champions League too. I think I'm doing that, I thank my coach and the team."