‼️ Milan, what a flop! Horror defence, no goals ❌ Amorim's choices 😱 | OneFootball

Milan’s European debut is a disaster. Yesterday’s defeat against Benfica brought all the problems of Ruben Amorim’s Diavolo back to the surface. A team that wants to attack, dominate, and play openly, but that for now can neither score nor defend. And in fact, in the first half — which is proving to be a real thorn in the side for the Rossoneri — they keep conceding goals. The match against Lazio was supposed to be a warning not to repeat the same mistakes, but against Benfica it went even worse.

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But the problems are not only on the pitch, but also (and above all) in the coach’s choices regarding the starting lineup. The team fielded against Benfica is a good example. Lots of backup players starting — first and foremost Terracciano in defense instead of Gila — and experienced, high-quality players like Modric, Pulisic, and Rabiot left on the bench. The Portuguese coach keeps changing players and solutions, but the starting eleven, just as already happened in the league matches, is a flop.

😱HORROR defense, Milan are wide open at the back

The Rossoneri’s defensive phase continues to raise huge doubts. Six goals conceded in the first five matches of the season, with only one clean sheet, the one against Venezia. For a team that has made attacking football part of its identity — Amorim has repeatedly stressed his footballing idea — that stat would not necessarily be dramatic. It becomes so when there are not enough goals at the other end of the pitch to make up for the risks.

📸 Marco Luzzani - 2026 Getty Images

And right now, Milan do not seem to have either a convincing attacking phase or a defensive structure capable of protecting them. The second goal conceded against Benfica is the perfect reflection of the back line’s problems: one striker in the box against 7 Rossoneri players, yet Kaminski was left completely unmarked. A static defense and broken automatisms — that makes everything far too easy for the opposition.

⚠️ And if the attack doesn’t click either...

If there are problems at the back, things are no better up front. Milan have not scored in the first half in any of their first five matches of the season between the league and the Europa League, finding the net only after the break. Ruben Amorim’s philosophy is clear: this Milan side was built as the complete opposite of ultra-defensive football. If he could choose before every match, the Portuguese coach would probably prefer a 4-3 over a 1-0.

📸 Marco Luzzani - 2026 Getty Images

But attacking football, to work, needs solid foundations. Domination, intensity, pressing, doubling up: these are concepts Amorim has repeated since July and that, so far, Milan have shown only in spells. On top of that, a subject dear to Rossoneri fans risks becoming relevant again at Milanello: the curse of the No. 9. Since Pippo Inzaghi’s departure, now 15 years ago, finding a true striker for Milan has become a real mission. So far, aside from Giroud’s positive spell, a failed one.

Gonçalo Ramos, who has already gone 3 matches without a goal, is struggling — and not a little — to make an impact. It is not only his ‘fault’, but the feeling is that he moves too far away from the box to try to make the difference where he should. Not only that, the Rossoneri No. 9 — and it was very clear last night against Benfica — is also not being found enough by his teammates; he often seems detached from the play and isolated.

🚨 Amorim and the problem with the starting eleven

And here we are at the other big problem. Amorim still does not seem to have found his lineup. After Benfica he explained that Rabiot had played 90 minutes against Lazio, Pulisic had played only 45 minutes at the Olimpico, and Moreira had not trained for two days. All true, but Benfica was not the first case in which Amorim fielded a rather questionable lineup. In fact, it seems to be a constant at the start of this season.

📸 MARCO BERTORELLO - AFP or licensors

Against Torino, Modric and Rabiot started on the bench. They came on in the 56th minute, and shortly after came the goal that put Milan ahead. Against Venezia, Rabiot once again started out. He came on, and Milan scored twice in the final twenty minutes. Against Juventus, same script: three substitutions after an hour helped change the momentum of the match.

Against Lazio, the turning point once again came from the bench with the introduction of Diego Moreira. Then Benfica, with Amorim once again deciding to make changes after the first 45 minutes, but this time it did not go the same way. The introductions of Pulisic, Rabiot, Moreira, and Gila certainly made a difference, but matches cannot and must not always be approached only with the idea of coming from behind, because otherwise it becomes a brutal grind. And often, the game punishes you. Will the lesson have been learned for the match against Lecce?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 Marco Luzzani - 2026 Getty Images