Amorim: ‘Milan are dominant and not clinical, something wrong if you lose and feel the same’

Amorim: ‘Milan are dominant and not clinical, something wrong if you lose and feel the same’ Ruben Amorim insists Milan are being ‘dominant’ in their matches, albeit with costly errors, and defends his squad rotation ahead of Lecce. ‘If you lose and feel the same, there’s something wrong with you.’ It kicks off at San Siro on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST). JAKARTA, INDONESIA – AUGUST 08: Head coach Ruben Amorim of AC Milan looks on during the pre-season friendly between Chelsea FC and AC Milan at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Peksi Cahyo/Getty Images) He started the press conference by commenting on the death of Italy and Inter legend Sandro Mazzola, who passed away this morning at the age of 83. “On behalf of our club and everybody here, my commiserations to the family. You all lost a legend, just like we did with Franco Baresi, we need to honour these legends by helping our calcio and maintaining the legacy of these champions,” said Amorim. This weekend is also the Centenary of the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, known to all as San Siro. “It’s an honour to be part of the history of San Siro. We want to win and to play well, it’s an important moment for our fans.” Amorim feeling the Milan pressure ITALY – SEPTEMBER 16: AC Milan coach Ruben Amorim looks on during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between AC Milan and SL Benfica at Stadio San Siro on September 16, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) The pressure is already building on the coach after back-to-back Serie A stalemates with Juventus and Lazio, then the humiliating 2-0 Europa League home defeat to Benfica on Wednesday . “When you lose, and you are competitive, you are not the same guy. If you are, then there is something wrong with you,” confessed the Portuguese tactician. “But you cannot change the past, we can change the next game and must focus on that. I always have conversations with the team on what we need to improve.” ROME, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 12: Luka Modric of AC Milan in action during the warm up before the Serie A match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on September 12, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images) Amorim was criticised for excessive squad rotation in that match, including his decision to leave Luka Modric on the bench throughout. “Benfica changed nine players, and we need rotation too. It’s not because of the players in the first half that we lost the game, as we had more possession, clear chances, more touches in their penalty area, but we didn’t score. Looking at the game, it was more a team performance rather than the specific players on the pitch.” Is there a reason why Milan have not scored a single goal in the first half yet this season? “I think it’s just a coincidence, because if you look against Torino or Venezia, we had clear chances. Most of the time, the opponent is really organised in the first 45 minutes, but the substitutions change the game. “It’s not just about not scoring, we need to not concede in the first half and defend better.” TURIN, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of AC Milan reacts during the Serie A match between Torino FC and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on August 23, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) Amorim was asked how far the current Milan side is from his vision of the team. “Most of the games we’ve been dominant, we’ve not been playing so well in every minute of the game, but the main thing now is to win against Lecce. “We want to be dominant, but we are still building our organisation, especially with the ball, so Lecce is a good opportunity for us to do that.” Ruben Amorim smiles at his first Milan press conference (acmilan.com) Ahead of that Benfica match, Amorim had told Sky Sport Italia he wasn’t sure the players at his disposal were entirely suited to his style of football, then tried to adjust the comments and say he was ready to ‘adapt’ his system. “Both things can be true,” replied the coach today. “The only thing people think about is the system, especially in Italy there are a lot of three centre-backs. My idea of football is not about the formation, it’s about the principles, so both things can be true. “What I said is that when a new manager arrives, it’s impossible to have the specific characteristics in every situation, that’s what I said. Everything can be true at the same time. “Fabio Capello asked me about not creating so many clear chances, but thinking about defending. My opinion is we need to defend better, especially when we have the ball. I try to be clear, so every argument I gave in that day can be true at the same time. It can also be wrong, of course. “I am really clear on my football ideas, but I try to be clear in my statements too.” ITALY – SEPTEMBER 16: AC Milan coach Ruben Amorim looks on during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between AC Milan and SL Benfica at Stadio San Siro on September 16, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) Could we see Christian Pulisic, Diego Moreira and Alexis Saelemaekers together? “Everyone can play together. There are a lot of things you don’t know and I have to manage during the week, but they can play together, and maybe tomorrow you’ll see some of these guys together.” It has been noted that the press from Milan so far has not been done simultaneously, especially the defenders failing to join in. “We are changing completely the way we press and where we want to win the ball, in some games we were better, when they are more fresh it’s easier, harder when it’s one against one. I want to get the ball really fast, but yes we all need to improve the momentum, when to press, but that is normal.” ITALY – SEPTEMBER 16: AC Milan coach Ruben Amorim looks on during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between AC Milan and SL Benfica at Stadio San Siro on September 16, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Milanello for the first time in several months for his role as special consultant to RedBird patron Gerry Cardinale. “It’s just a visit of one person connected to the club, nothing more. Our focus is on the game, that is the important task,” shrugged Amorim. “With Cardinale it was a normal thing, usual contact, talking about the club, nothing special.” Amorim was pushed on his rapport with the senior players, some of whom were benched against Benfica. “I am very clear with everyone, and of course when you don’t play, you get upset. What they want is honesty, sometimes you don’t agree with the manager, but when you are direct, they can understand that. “Again, during the week I see physical things, I know the load and the past that they have, so I try to manage that, and they understand sometimes you need to rotate.” ITALY – SEPTEMBER 16: AC Milan coach Ruben Amorim issues instructions to his player Goncalo Ramos during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between AC Milan and SL Benfica at Stadio San Siro on September 16, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) The coach decided to turn a question about the best starting XI back on the reporter, asking him who he’d consider the first choice. “What did you guys say about Modric last week? I defend Modric here, you guys talk about the pace of Modric, you’ll see that every week you have a different starting XI. And then you have to manage three games per week. And the substitutions. Now what do you do? “I know it’s not your job, but what I’m trying to explain is that your opinion is going to change, because Musah is playing really well. We can have this conversation all day. Nobody here wants to win more games than me, and I am not just thinking about short-term, but also long-term because that is best for the club, not for me. “Tomorrow I will pick the best starting XI, thinking if I have to push forward in the second half.” JAKARTA, INDONESIA – AUGUST 08: Head coach Ruben Amorim of AC Milan looks on during the pre-season friendly between Chelsea FC and AC Milan at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on August 08, 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Peksi Cahyo/Getty Images) Amorim insists his ideas are already filtering through at Milan, even if they are not necessarily that consistent or effective yet. “You never see our team waiting for the game, the intention is always there. We tried to press Benfica, who were really compact, so that caused us problems. When the opponent is different, we have to try different things, but we always try to control and dominate. “The intention is always the same, we have the most touches in the box, the most shots, the most possession. Maybe we need to be better at balancing and changing sometimes, we are trying to do that.” The Lega Serie A noted Roma and Inter were top with 40 and 41 ‘killer passes’ inside the penalty area this season, whereas Milan only managed 14, so is there a lack of service for Goncalo Ramos? “We have to create more clear chances for Ramos, I don’t want to say that he needs to work less to save legs, but we do need to spend more time near the opposition box,” replied Amorim. GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – JULY 25: AC Milan Manager Ruben Amorim during the Celtic v AC Milan match in a pre-season friendly at Celtic Park on July 25, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images) “We need to create the connections, but in the last game against Benfica, we had several situations that went wrong for small details. I am more concerned when we don’t have as many touches in the box, but against Benfica we did have a lot more touches and sometimes football is hard to explain. “Everybody was angry at the goals we conceded from Benfica, on one situation there were three defenders in the box to one winger, and he scored. We need to control those situations better, be more clinical, and also defend better. “But guys, please don’t write that I’m criticising the players, I’m just telling the story and trying to give examples. The most important thing is the recovering position, and in that sense they are doing well.”