Ruben Amorim questions AC Milan mindset after Europa League disaster against Benfica

Goals from Dodi Lukebakio and Jakub Kaminski condemned the Rossoneri to their first loss under the new manager, following consecutive draws in Serie A. The atmosphere at San Siro turned toxic by the final whistle, with the home supporters making their frustrations heard. Amorim was blunt in his assessment of the performance, suggesting that the problems might be deeper than just tactical errors.

"I don’t know if it’s a mental issue, but it’s the second match in a row where the first half we are not in the game,” Amorim confessed to Sky Sports. “We cannot concede this goal, because we still have a lot of problems to create chances, we get nervous, we get anxious, it all becomes more difficult."

The manager’s vision for a dominant, possession-based side was nowhere to be found during a disjointed display. Milan struggled to break down a Benfica side that had rotated nine players from their previous starting XI, highlighting the depth of the issues currently facing the Milanese squad. Amorim noted that his players were often their own worst enemies when in possession of the ball, leading to dangerous turnovers.

"This conversation of my idea is to play football. To do that, we need to play the ball, but we are creating more problems for ourselves when we have the ball than when the opponent has it. We are trying to create the routines to have more possession in the box, we had some in the second half, but we are not creating, we lack creativity near the box," Amorim explained.

"In the first half, when we conceded the goal, we totally lost control of what we were meant to be doing, we wanted to do it all so fast and without quality. If we look at the game, when we have the ball is when we need to be prepared for the danger, because we lose it dangerous situations for our goal."

The former Sporting CP boss offered a scathing assessment of his side's stagnant attacking display, pointing to a total lack of off-the-ball movement as the root of their offensive woes. His tactical blueprint was left completely paralyzed during a frustrating opening period, where an immobile frontline suffocated the midfield and starved the primary playmakers of any working space.

"It’s true, especially in the first half, nobody was making runs behind, and when we have a team with two trequartista players, they have no space because nobody runs in behind them. We talked about that at half-time," Amorim noted. "We need to look at all the game, we had started better after the break, but then we conceded a second goal, so they dropped back near the box and waited for us to go on the transition."

Despite the poor start, Amorim remains defiant about his long-term project at the club, though he admitted he is willing to pivot his tactical approach if it means securing better results. The pressure is now on to show that his 3-4-2-1 system can actually work in the high-pressure environment of Italian football. As the questions regarding his formation persist, Amorim insisted that he is not wedded to a single philosophy and will search for a way to make the team more effective.

"I change all the time, we need to start with a base, we have two months of work. We lost tonight, but we will find the solutions to adapt to these games, because we need to create an idea, but we also need to win, so of course we can adapt,' he concluded.