From the moment the ball left his foot as he arrowed an unstoppable half volley into the top corner to draw AC Milan level against Sassuolo to his tearful postmatch interview, last Sunday's eventual 4-3 victory was an emotional day for 18-year-old Manuel Locatelli.
The highly talented midfielder joined the Rossoneri in 2009, and has steadily come through the youth system while earning widespread praise along the way. Combined with the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessio Romagnoli and Davide Calabria, there is no denying that Locatelli is considered one of the future stars of this Milan squad.
His goal on Sunday will add further strength to the argument that he deserves more playing time, having now made four Serie A appearances so far this season from the bench.
Admittedly, he still needs time to adapt to the first team. Although he's produced plenty of positive moments during his time on the field, there have also been mistakes and a rawness about his play.
The counter-argument is he needs playing time to mature and improve his game, but that puts additional pressure on coach Vincenzo Montella with regards to his selections.
The Italian has seemingly settled on a three-man midfield, with Giacomo Bonaventura, Riccardo Montolivo and Juraj Kucka starting when fit. If Locatelli is to displace one of that trio in the starting lineup, it's pretty obvious as to which individual supporters think should get the chop.
Bonaventura is an integral part of Milan's play when on form as he is a creative spark in midfield who troubles the opposition in the final third. Meanwhile, Kucka's aggressiveness and determination is pivotal as too often the Rossoneri can be overrun if there is no bite in the midfield.
In turn, it leaves Montolivo as the odd man out. The captain recently spoke about the constant criticism he receives from the San Siro faithful, and there is a degree of sympathy for him as it can't be easy playing in such conditions when your own supporters are jeering you.
"The fans here are increasingly demanding with me and there are some people I am never going to please, so I just get used to it," he noted last month. "It's good that all the pressure is on me and not my teammates, though."
Montolivo is regularly defended by Montella, current and former players, but there is a sense he's an easy target and will struggle to put the tag of being the problem in Milan's current lineup behind him.
Much of it is warranted though, as seen in the win over Sassuolo. Given his role as captain and as the central midfielder who is expected to make things happen, Montolivo is not influential enough.
The 31-year-old should be dropping back, demanding the ball and grabbing the game by the throat. He should be snapping into tackles and setting the tempo for the team off the ball, and he should be driving them forward when he's in possession.
Instead, too often he plays safe balls sideways and backwards, calling for the team to settle and jogging around the pitch without making himself available to his defenders.
That in turn often leads to possession being given away or the backline coming under pressure, whereas Montolivo should be carrying that burden alongside his fellow midfielders and setting the example. His experience is valuable and he still has a role at the San Siro, but to be such a central figure in Montella's side, he needs to do much more.
His commitment and effort should be lauded, as there can be few who doubt his desire to see Milan succeed. However, desire can only get him so far, and if the quality isn't there to match it, something needs to change for the good of the team.
Locatelli's tears on Sunday showed just how much his contribution meant to him, and there is no doubt he can become an influential part of the team. However, he also has a major part to play in that process as he needs to continue to improve and show he deserves more chances.
He hopefully won't follow a similar path to Bryan Cristante, another highly rated young midfielder who was tipped for big things but now finds himself on loan at Pescara from Benfica after being sold by Milan.
As seen with the likes of Sinisa Mihajlovic and Cristian Brocchi before him, Montella evidently values something in Montolivo that he believes is crucial to the team. The problem is that few Milan fans still see it, and while we've had glimpses of it so far this season, it's questionable as to whether or not the Italian international still has it in his legs to lead this team for the rest of the season.
Locatelli made a statement on Sunday, and surely even Montella is running out of reasons not to give him a chance from the start at the expense of Montolivo.