It was difficult not to be moved by Locatelli's emotion. At just 18 years of age, he had scored his first professional goal — and in sensational fashion, too, the midfielder netting AC Milan's equalizer in the 4-3 win over Sassuolo at San Siro with a thumping half-volley from outside the area. The Tardelli-esque celebration that followed was, thus, wholly understandable.
"When I heard the noise from the crowd, I couldn't believe it and I just started running," the Lecco native said. Few goals have been greeted with such enthusiasm at San Siro — and it was easy to understand why.
Here was a youth academy graduate producing a moment of sublime quality for a club that has been both reinvigorated and rejuvenated by new coach Vincenzo Montella.
Last weekend, the Rossoneri moved into third place in the Serie A standings, level on points with Roma, and five behind leader Juventus. They did so courtesy of a 3-1 win at Chievo with a side containing two teenagers in Locatelli and Gianluigi Donnarumma, and four other players age 24 or younger (Mattia De Sciglio, Alessio Romagnoli, M'Baye Niang and Suso), while the 19-year-old Davide Calabria missed out through injury.
Indeed, it says everything about the youthful nature of the current Milan side that Niang feels a responsibility to set an example for others to follow.
"I don't feel like a youngster," the striker told La Repubblica earlier this week. "I'm nearly 22 and I've been a professional since I was 16. Along with De Sciglio, I'm one of the most experienced players in the team. Us two, we have to be an example to the real boys, like Donnarumma and Locatelli."
Niang is certainly a most unlikely leader of Montella's Milan. When the former Fiorentina coach arrived at San Siro in June, the French forward was being heavily criticized for jumping off a roof into a swimming pool at a time when he was still recovering from injuries suffered in a car accident that had ruled him out of action for three months.
"I didn’t think about the consequences," said Niang, who has racked up three goals and two assists so far this season. "I understand that, after an injury like mine, people might think I am stupid. But I feel like I am maturing. They were all experiences that have made me grow up. The important thing is to have learned from mistakes. I have grown as a man and as a player."
Montella has played a key role in Niang's maturation. The ex-Italy international had been expected to immediately offload the former Caen attacker but Montella revealed that his trying spell at Sampdoria last season taught him the value of prudence.
"I wanted to get to know him this summer before passing judgment," the Milan boss said. "The antics of some players make more noise than others.
"Niang is very young and can improve in every area, but he is working to become a champion. All experiences help people to grow. For example, last year’s experiences helped me a great deal, as I learned some valuable lessons."
Montella's eight-month stint in charge of Samp was certainly a chastening experience. Having forged a reputation as one of Italy's most promising young coaches by overseeing three consecutive fourth-place finishes at Fiorentina, he claimed just six wins from his 26 games at the helm, losing 14, as the Blucerchiati finished 15th in the table, just two points above the drop zone.
As a result, when Milan came calling, Montella approached his new role with great humility. "Some people think I'm a presumptuous snob, while I only consider myself a private man, with a great practical sense," he mused. "I'm much more rational and self-critical than people may think.
"Having said that, I like a saying by Oscar Wilde, 'At times it's best to be silent and appear foolish than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.'"
Hardly surprising, then, that Montella is playing down giddy talk of Milan being in a position to launch a Scudetto challenge ahead of Saturday's San Siro showdown with reigning champion Juventus.
"We don't belong in certain discussions," he said after last weekend's win in Verona. "We are keeping a low profile."
That is wishful thinking on Montella's part because the way in which Milan's bright young talents have lit up Serie A this season has not gone unnoticed, least of all by Europe's elite. Chelsea has been linked with center back Romagnoli, who made his first Italy start during the international break, Manchester United is just one of a number of a clubs to have been impressed by the prodigious talents of 17-year-old shot-stopper Donnarumma, and Arsenal is said to be readying a bid for Niang.
Encouragingly for Milan, though, Niang says that he and his fellow teammates are focused solely on restoring the Rossoneri to their former glory, revealing that Montella's arrival has changed the entire atmosphere at San Siro.
"Nobody will leave," he said. "We were lacking certainty, we were missing what it felt like to be a Milan player, but now we have a tactical identity, a united group, defensive solidity. I have already rejected big offers and, even more so today, I would say no. The project founded on youngsters is working."
Just how well will become evident Saturday but what is clear is that Milan has a promising present and an even more exciting future.