AC Milan's European nightmare! Ruben Amorim's rotation backfires as Benfica claim historic win

Milan suffered a disastrous start to their Europa League campaign, falling to a 2-0 home defeat against Benfica. Head coach Amorim is already feeling the pressure after choosing to heavily rotate his squad at San Siro.

The Rossoneri returned to European action following back-to-back Serie A draws against Juventus and Lazio. Omari Hutchinson and Filippo Terracciano were handed their first starts of the season, while Davide Bartesaghi returned to a revamped defence.

However, the tactical tweaks ultimately backfired. They struggled against a confident Benfica side who effortlessly capitalised on the hosts' disjointed and sluggish display.

The visitors took control early when Dodi Lukebakio curled a brilliant left-footed finish into the bottom corner. The winger was set up by Jakub Kaminski, slicing through the Milan defence with ease to beat Mike Maignan.

Benfica nearly doubled their advantage shortly after when Georgiy Sudakov drilled a shot against the base of the far post. Despite a flying save from Anatoliy Trubin to deny a long-range Terracciano screamer, Milan looked completely toothless.

Kaminski then sealed the historic victory in the second half. He fired into the roof of the net from close range after a clever pull-back from El Karouani, punishing yet another defensive lapse from the hosts.

This result marked a truly historic milestone for Benfica. The Portuguese giants had never previously beaten Milan in six attempts, a miserable run that included painful defeats in the 1963 and 1990 European Cup Finals.

Their victory was made even more impressive by their own team selection. With a massive domestic clash against FC Porto looming on Sunday, Benfica rotated nine of their starting line-up, bringing in players like former Parma defender Alessandro Circati.

Meanwhile, the recent statistics make incredibly grim reading for Milan. Since last April, the Rossoneri have lost four of their six home matches across all competitions, shipping at least two goals in each of those defeats.

Amorim must now urgently address his team's glaring attacking woes. This was the fifth time under the new manager that Milan completely failed to find the back of the net in the first half.

Bizarrely, all but one of Milan’s goals this season have arrived during a frantic five-minute window between the 64th and 69th minutes. Despite introducing Christian Pulisic, who forced a late save from Trubin, the hosts could not break that strange scoring trend.

The scrutiny will only intensify as Milan turn their attention back to domestic duties. Amorim needs to quickly find a winning formula to prevent this early-season stumble from spiralling into a full-blown crisis at San Siro.