Ruben Amorim vows to adapt after Milan suffer Benfica defeat

Ruben Amorim admitted Milan were not properly involved in their Europa League match against Benfica during the first half and said he is prepared to change his tactical approach to help the team start winning.

Milan were beaten 2-0 by Benfica at San Siro in their opening league-phase fixture, with Dodi Lukebakio scoring in the 15th minute before Jakub Kaminski added a second in the 53rd minute.

The result was Amorim’s first defeat since taking charge of Milan. His first two Serie A matches ended in draws against Juventus and Lazio.

Speaking to Sky Sport, Amorim said Milan’s attempts to control possession had sometimes created problems for themselves.

“My idea is that I want us to play football. To do that, we need to play with the ball, but we create more problems for ourselves when we have possession than when the opponent has it,” he said.

“We are trying to develop habits that allow us to keep the ball closer to the opposition’s penalty area. We did that during some periods of the second half, but we are not creating chances and we lack creativity around the box.”

Amorim said Milan lost their structure after Benfica took the lead.

“In the first half, when we conceded, we completely lost control of what we wanted to do. We tried to do everything too quickly and without enough quality,” he said.

“When we have the ball, we must be ready for the danger because we are losing it in situations that are dangerous for our goal.”

Asked whether Milan’s poor start was a mental issue, Amorim replied: “I don’t know if it is a mental problem, but this is the second match in a row in which we have not been in the game during the first half.”

He also criticised the movement of his players, particularly their failure to run behind Benfica’s defensive line.

“It is true that the players’ movements were wrong, especially in the first half. Nobody was running behind the defence,” Amorim said.

“When we play with two attacking midfielders, they do not have space if nobody makes runs behind them.”

The Milan manager insisted the responsibility was collective rather than belonging to one or two players.

“We need to improve as a team. It is not about one or two players not participating,” he said. “There are things we do not do when we reach the penalty area or get close to it. For example, nobody enters the box to receive a pass from Samuel Chukwueze.”

“We need to be more precise and more organised.”

Amorim added that he was willing to adjust his ideas while retaining the need to produce results.

“I change all the time. We need a starting point, and we have had two months of work,” he said. “We lost tonight, but we will find solutions to adapt to these matches. We need to build an idea, but we also need to win, so of course we can adapt.”

Milan’s remaining league-phase fixtures are home matches against Ferencvarosi, Ararat and Sunderland, with away games at Olympiacos, Salzburg, Bournemouth and Levski Sofia.