Amorim condemns Milan display after shock Ferencvaros defeat

Ruben Amorim criticised Milan’s attitude and preparation after they suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Ferencvaros, saying his players were not ready to play football and demanding greater humility, focus and responsibility.

Milan had hoped to build on their 3-1 victory over Inter in the Derby della Madonnina, but produced a disappointing performance in the Europa League. The defeat was their third in four matches in the competition and has left their European campaign in serious difficulty.

Amorim made several changes to the side that started against Inter, with only five players retaining their places: Ramos, Rabiot, Musah, De Winter and Diawara. The alterations failed to have the intended effect as Milan struggled to reach the level they had shown in the derby.

The manager sent Moreira and Christian Pulisic to warm up at half-time as his frustration grew. However, Leny Yoro? NoLenny Joseph settled the game for Ferencvaros with goals in the 52nd and 66th minutes, the second following a serious defensive error by Belgium defender Koni De Winter.

De Winter admitted afterwards that Milan had again lost concentration.

“These are moments when we lose our focus again,” he said. “Nothing went right for us today and I cannot explain it. It is about mentality, how we approach matches and the way we play. This is our weakness.”

Amorim: ‘We were not ready to play football’

Amorim offered a blunt assessment of Milan’s performance and accepted that the problems extended beyond technical issues.

“There is no explanation and I do not know what to say, especially about the first half,” he said. “I cannot remember us producing such a poor first half before. It is about ambition and focus. We gave the opponent chances and made silly mistakes.”

He added: “We were not ready to play football tonight. It is difficult to find the right words to explain what happened. Quite simply, we were not ready to move from the derby to a different competition.

“When you wear the Milan shirt, you carry a great responsibility. You cannot perform like this.”

Amorim also acknowledged his own role in the failure to prepare the team.

“Perhaps I also failed to make sure the team was ready to go on to the pitch,” he said. “We are not ready to compete on two fronts, Serie A and the Europa League. We have to work on our vision of football and our approach to matches. There are no excuses.”

The Portuguese then pointed to Strahinja Pavlovic as an example of commitment in training, saying: “Everyone has to train like Pavlovic. He is ready to give everything in training and sets an example.”

Amorim insisted the absence of some players from the starting line-up could not excuse the result, adding: “Even with the players who started the match, we should have won.”

Milan are 28th with three points following three defeats in four games. Their only victory came against Austrian side Salzburg, whom they beat 4-0. They had previously lost 2-0 to Benfica and suffered a three-goal defeat by Bournemouth.

Ferencvaros, meanwhile, moved to 12 points and second place behind leaders Bournemouth on goal difference after recording a fourth consecutive victory.