Milan, Ramos struggle in front of goal: the statistics clearly explain why. With the Portuguese, Pulisic has returned to being an unerring marksman

Goncalo Ramos ranks second among strikers in Italy for passes received, second for touches, third for passes, second for duels, first for interceptions and first for ball recoveries. He covers an average of 10 km every match, without let-up. He works hard for the team, links different areas of the pitch and shuts down the opposition's source of play. His tactical work is remarkable in some respects, but he looks more like an attacking midfielder than a conventional No 9, the focal point of his team's attack.

Intelligent and selfless, the former PSG player always puts the team's interests ahead of his own. Yesterday's opening goal showed why. Rather than stubbornly calling for the ball to his feet, the Portuguese player kept running towards goal to leave space, even pointing it out to his team-mates. Cisse read his team-mate's movement and had only to smash Rabiot's excellent assist into the net.

Amorim identified the central problem after Genoa-Milan: Milan aren't helping Ramos right now, while he is clearly helping them. Per 30 minutes of possession, Milan rank 20th in Serie A for entries into the final third, 19th for the percentage of touches in the attacking third, 20th for entries into the opposition penalty area and 18th for the percentage of touches in the opposition area.

To address that, Amorim wants to tackle a weakness in the squad. Gila, Rabiot and Modric's passing helps Milan manage possession, but few of their players are suited to combination play or can pick out a through ball or deliver a cross from the byline. Improving in this phase of play is the next step towards making Milan title contenders. More pressure in the final third would bring more chances to Ramos's feet or head. Only then will it be possible to see and judge the true finishing ability of the player who has become Portugal's starting striker.

With Milan struggling to get players into the opposition penalty area consistently, Ramos is trying to create space for his team-mates. He drops towards the ball and now operates closer to the centre circle than the opposition penalty spot. Pulisic is benefiting: he's scoring with impressive regularity again. The American is more of a second striker than a creator, making runs behind defenders to make use of the number 9's work.

Amorim wants the wide players to move inside and fields them on their opposite foot. This favours runs forward from central midfield or inside from out wide rather than runs from the team's number 9.

Does Ramos have the attributes of a true number 9? His PSG data and heat maps show he does. He averaged a goal every 93 minutes of playing time there, compared with one every 397 minutes now. Last season, his touches in the penalty area were exactly double his current tally, confirming that his different role is hurting his numbers in front of goal.

Two conclusions can coexist: Milan need to find Ramos more often and give him better service in the final third, while he needs to manage his physical resources better during matches. In the long run, Milan will need Ramos's goals more than his assists.