Ruben Amorim’s first European defeat as Milan coach has brought an early question into focus: how quickly can a squad assembled through a highly rated summer window become a group suited to his football?
The 0-2 home loss to Benfica in the Europa League was Amorim’s first reverse in a competitive match with the Rossoneri. It also sharpened his public assessment of a side still adjusting to a coach determined to impose his own standards rather than soften them for immediate convenience.
A coach still testing his group
- Milan completed a summer market regarded as a 10-out-of-10 operation, with Amorim closely involved in identifying incoming players and indicating those who could be moved on.
- Across his opening five matches, the Portuguese coach selected five different starting line-ups, using rotation both to manage the group and to assess individuals at close range before making final judgements.
- The Benfica defeat, Milan’s opening Europa League fixture, appeared to reinforce his belief that several players are not naturally suited to the demands of his preferred 3-4-2-1.
Amorim has not argued that he inherited an impossible situation. “It is partly true that the squad does not fit my 3-4-2-1, but you cannot join a new club and expect everything to be ready,” he said.
His approach has nevertheless been uncompromising. After the Benfica match, he made clear that, if his project is to fail, it will do so on his own terms and with his own ideas, regardless of criticism or debate around the team.
Defensive questions remain
Fikayo Tomori is among the clearest cases. During the summer he had been placed among the players considered expendable, alongside Fofana, Nkunku and others. Milan did not bring in another defender after the window closed, and Tomori was restored to the senior group, but he has yet to play a single minute under Amorim.
Strahinja Pavlovic has been a regular starter, yet he is not viewed as the ideal wide centre-back for Amorim, particularly when Milan are required to progress the ball. Matteo Gabbia, meanwhile, has not featured under the new coach, although physical issues have also affected his availability.
Midfield, wing-backs and the players between roles
Amorim has consistently sought running power and intensity in midfield without giving up control in possession. Luka Modric, now 41, cannot be expected to offer the same reliable physical output he once did, while Jashari’s encouraging start has been followed by the uncertainties seen last season.
On the flanks, Davide Bartesaghi does not appear to fit the usual profile Amorim has favoured. The coach has often relied either on forceful, attacking full-backs or on converted forwards in those areas, as he did with Diallo at Manchester United and as he is now doing with Samuel Chukwueze at Milan.
Alexis Saelemaekers and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have also been tested further forward, in the spaces behind the striker. Neither entirely matches Amorim’s ideal for that role: Saelemaekers can be erratic in his decision-making, while Loftus-Cheek has questions over the quality and consistency of his contribution.
The Benfica result does not settle Milan’s season, but it has exposed the scale of the adjustment ahead. Amorim has been given a squad shaped partly by his input, yet his early selections and comments suggest further work may be needed in future transfer windows before the group fully reflects his game.
