Gonçalo Ramos has returned to Milan from the international break with a different rhythm and, more importantly for a centre-forward, renewed certainty. He had left the club after a month without scoring; he came back having started three matches for Portugal and scored in all three, restoring the conviction of a striker who has previously kept Cristiano Ronaldo out of the side.
A Portugal break built on combination play
The goals were not simply the product of Ramos waiting in the penalty area for Portugal’s creative players. His recent international displays showed a forward repeatedly making himself available with his back to goal, receiving firm passes into feet and bringing team-mates into the action with quick lay-offs.
Portugal have no shortage of players capable of creating chances, including João Cancelo, Bruno Fernandes, João Félix, Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Rafael Leão, Rúben Neves and Chico Conceição. Yet Ramos’s role has often begun with work for others rather than with a final touch of his own.
- Against Denmark, Ramos dropped away from the box and produced an inventive, near-backheel lay-off for Bruno Fernandes.
- Fernandes then returned the ball through the Danish defence, allowing Ramos to finish with the toe of his boot.
- Against Norway on Sunday, Ramos made the more traditional striker’s run into the area before João Félix found him with a volleyed touch from a Vitinha delivery.
- Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland also made an error early in that move, leaving the route to goal open for Portugal.
The Denmark goal offered the clearest image of the forward’s recent form: Ramos helps the team develop the move, and the team repays him in the final third. The other two goals arrived in different circumstances, but together they completed three goals from three starts.
Encouragement for Milan and Amorim
Portugal coach Jorge Jesus believes the striker is still moving forward. “Gonçalo is improving, and he will be very helpful to both Milan and Amorim,” he said. “He will keep developing.”
For Milan, the question is whether that international momentum can carry into the league programme. The club cannot reproduce Portugal’s depth of technical quality, nor the particular understanding Ramos found with Bruno Fernandes, but there are elements that can be transferred.
Luka Modric and Jashari have the quality and timing to locate Ramos with vertical passes. Cissé, Moreira and Christian Pulisic can operate between the lines, connect the play and send him towards goal. The important point is not to turn Ramos into a striker isolated between centre-backs, but to make him a reference point in moves that continue beyond his first touch.
Sassuolo offer the next examination
The forthcoming meeting with Sassuolo brings a statistical reason for optimism. Sassuolo’s PPDA stands at 21, a measure of how many opposition passes a side permits before making a tackle, interception or foul. Only Cagliari have a higher figure.
That suggests Alberto Aquilani’s side can play their own football, but also leave opponents room to construct attacks. For Ramos, fresh from a break in which his lay-offs repeatedly opened the next phase of Portugal’s moves, it may be a useful setting for Milan to test the same pattern.
After a scoreless month, the forward’s recovery has been built less on individual impatience than on joining the play. If Milan can keep finding him early and run beyond him afterwards, Ramos’s return from Portugal may become more than a brief interruption to the season.
