‘It was not a match’ – Amorim reacts to Milan’s 3-0 Europa League defeat by Bournemouth

Ruben Amorim described Milan’s 3-0 Europa League defeat by Bournemouth as “not a match” after two first-half penalties and the dismissal of goalkeeper Mike Maignan left his side facing a difficult evening.

Bournemouth scored twice from the spot before the interval, with the second penalty awarded after Maignan was sent off.

“The penalty that came from the corner and the red card changed everything. It was not a match,” Milan manager Amorim told Sky Sport Italia.

“We did not have time to recover from the first penalty. We tried to press towards the end, but the third goal made things even more difficult for us.”

Amorim rejected the idea that the result had been determined by the pace of the game or by Salzburg.

“There was no match,” he said. “It is not about the pace or Salzburg. There was no match.

“It is a different team. You cannot get a penalty from a corner and you cannot be sent off in that situation.”

The Portuguese manager acknowledged that Maignan’s dismissal had a major impact, but said Milan had to learn from the incident and prepare for their next fixture.

“We cannot do that,” Amorim said. “We need to keep 11 players on the pitch. There are more experienced players, but now we need to recover and get ready for the next match.

“We have to run a lot with one player fewer and try to press at the right moment in that situation, so it was negative in every respect tonight.”

Asked whether he had spoken to Maignan about the red card, Amorim said: “No, I did not have time. Now I have to go to Milan to prepare for the next match against Udinese. We will talk about it when we return.”

The defeat left Milan on three points in 24th place in the Europa League standings.

Milan will face Udinese in Serie A on Sunday, in matchday eight.