Milan’s Europa League campaign began with a damaging 2-0 home defeat to Benfica, a night at San Siro that left Ruben Amorim’s side facing fresh questions over its direction, its attacking ideas and its ability to recover in the competition.
SEO Title: Milan beaten by Benfica as Amorim faces Europa League concerns
SEO Description: Benfica won 2-0 at San Siro against Milan in the opening Europa League round, exposing attacking and defensive shortcomings in Ruben Amorim’s side.
Milan lose more than the opening European match
The whistles at the final whistle carried more resignation than surprise. Milan had hoped that the Europa League could offer another route to a meaningful season, but Benfica controlled the occasion despite also making extensive changes before Sunday’s Portuguese league summit meeting with Porto.
Amorim left Adrien Rabiot, Christian Pulisic, Luka Modric, Moreira and Gila out of his starting line-up. Benfica went even further in preserving personnel, with striker Pavlidis among the regulars held in reserve before appearing late on.
Yet the altered Benfica team looked the sharper, more coherent side. Milan’s European ambitions now appear difficult to sustain, with even a Conference League place presented as uncertain after such a flat first outing.
Benfica’s movement unsettles the Rossoneri
Marco Silva’s Benfica had been listed in a 4-2-3-1, but their shape changed clearly during the game. Without the ball, Kaminski dropped on the left to form a five-man defensive line and deal with Samuel Chukwueze. In possession, Benfica built with four, while Dodi Lukebakio’s inward movements from the right repeatedly created uncertainty for Davide Bartesaghi.
Georgiy Sudakov also drifted towards the left rather than remaining fixed behind centre-forward Durban. The result was a fluid structure that could broadly be described as a 3-4-2-1, though the changing positions mattered more than the nominal formation.
Milan did not find a comparable way through. Their possession lacked a clear route to numerical advantages, while individual solutions were limited. Hutchinson’s long-range attempts summed up a side increasingly reliant on low-percentage efforts.
Benfica’s opener came from the pattern Milan had struggled to contain. Lukebakio moved inside from the right, drew Bartesaghi around the edge of the penalty area and finished with a left-footed strike into the corner. Sudakov then hit the post from a similar zone, underlining Benfica’s superiority during the opening period.
Milan’s clearest first-half moment was a Terracciano shot turned away by Anatoliy Trubin. Gonçalo Ramos, isolated at the front of the attack, received little service and was rarely able to bring others into the game.
Changes bring no recovery
Amorim acted at half-time, introducing Gila and Pulisic immediately before adding Saelemaekers and Moreira. The changes brought more urgency but not the breakthrough Milan needed.
De Winter wasted an early second-half chance, and the hosts could not create sustained pressure. Ramos remained peripheral, neither supplied by his team-mates nor finding the spaces required to become involved.
Benfica doubled their lead after a defensive lapse. El Karouani was allowed to deliver an uncontested cross, and Kaminski arrived with equal freedom to force the ball home. It was a goal that exposed Milan’s lack of organisation at a decisive moment.
For the remainder of the contest, including stoppage time, Milan pushed without changing the outcome. Pulisic tested Trubin twice, most notably with a shot from outside the area, but those efforts also highlighted the central problem: Milan’s most visible attacking threat came from distance rather than from constructed chances.
A difficult chapter for Amorim
The defeat carries immediate consequences for the Europa League standings, but the wider concern is what it says about Amorim’s early management of the side. Milan were beaten without a disputed decision or a missed major opportunity to explain the result away.
The club’s supporters remember a Milan capable of defeating Benfica in European Cup finals. This version of the team, following the Portuguese-led spells of Sergio Conceição and Paulo Fonseca and the second period under Massimiliano Allegri, has instead suffered another painful defeat against Portuguese opposition.
Sunday afternoons and European nights can quickly shape a season in Italy. Milan now need a response not merely to protect their continental position, but to show that Amorim’s project can develop an identity before dissatisfaction around San Siro becomes deeper.
