Benfica Beat AC Milan 2-0 as Amorim Faces Pressure After Rotation
AC Milan’s Europa League campaign began with a damaging 2-0 defeat at home to Benfica, increasing the pressure on head coach Amorim after his heavily changed side failed to respond at San Siro.
Benfica punish Milan’s changed line-up
Milan came into the European opener after consecutive Serie A draws against Juventus and Lazio, and Amorim reshuffled his team. Omari Hutchinson and Filippo Terracciano made their first starts of the season, while Davide Bartesaghi was brought back into an altered defence.
The hosts never found fluency against a Benfica side that controlled the contest despite making nine changes of their own before Sunday’s major domestic meeting with FC Porto. Former Parma defender Alessandro Circati was among those brought in by the Portuguese club.
- Dodi Lukebakio opened the scoring with a left-foot strike into the bottom corner after Jakub Kaminski found space through the Milan back line.
- Georgiy Sudakov then hit the foot of the far post as Benfica threatened to extend their lead before half-time.
- Terracciano tested Anatoliy Trubin from distance, but the Benfica goalkeeper made a sharp save and Milan created little else.
- Kaminski made it 2-0 in the second half, converting El Karouani’s pull-back from close range after another defensive error.
Historic night for Benfica
The result gave Benfica their first victory over Milan at the seventh attempt. Their previous six meetings had brought no wins, including defeats in the 1963 and 1990 European Cup finals.
For Milan, the loss added to a concerning home record. Since April, the Rossoneri have been beaten in four of six matches at San Siro in all competitions, conceding two or more goals in every one of those defeats.
Amorim faces urgent attacking problem
Milan again lacked a cutting edge, with this becoming the fifth match under Amorim in which the team did not score before the interval. Christian Pulisic was introduced later and forced Trubin into a save, but the home side could not find a route back into the match.
Their scoring pattern has also become increasingly unusual: all but one of Milan’s goals this season have come between the 64th and 69th minutes. Benfica prevented them from producing another late burst.
What happens next
Amorim must now turn Milan’s focus back to Serie A and quickly settle on a more effective formula. Another domestic setback would deepen the scrutiny after an early European defeat that exposed both the team’s defensive fragility and attacking struggles.
