Milan endured a difficult return to the Europa League, losing 2-0 to Benfica at home. The result came after consecutive Serie A draws against Juventus and Lazio, while coach Ruben Amorim’s selection decisions are already attracting pressure.
Amorim made several changes for the European opener, handing Omari Hutchinson and Filippo Terracciano their first starts of the season, bringing Davide Bartesaghi back from injury and reshaping the midfield. Benfica also rotated heavily, making nine changes to their starting XI ahead of Sunday’s meeting with FC Porto.
Milan and Benfica trade early chances
Benfica entered the match on a seven-game winning run, although they had never previously defeated Milan. The Portuguese side had drawn twice and lost four times in their previous meetings, including the 1963 and 1990 European Cup Finals.
Dodi Lukebakio tested Mike Maignan early with a shot straight at the goalkeeper before finding the breakthrough moments later. Receiving the ball from Jakub Kaminski on the right, Lukebakio cut inside with Bartesaghi in pursuit and curled a left-footed effort into the far bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Benfica almost doubled their advantage in the 24th minute when Ardon Jashari gave the ball away cheaply. Georgiy Sudakov collected possession and struck the base of the far post from the edge of the area.
Milan’s first significant response came through Terracciano, whose powerful long-range effort forced Anatoliy Trubin into a flying save. Goncalo Ramos then failed to connect with Bartesaghi’s ball across the area.
Benfica extends their lead against Milan
Jashari tried to make amends with an effort from the edge of the box that flew just over the crossbar, but Milan once again failed to score in the opening 45 minutes. It was the fifth time this had happened under Amorim.
Christian Pulisic and Mario Gila were introduced at the start of the second half as Milan looked for a response. Koni De Winter then missed an opportunity after good work from Alphadjo Cisse, scuffing his attempt wide from eight yards.
Instead, Benfica found a second goal. El Karouani pulled the ball back from the left, allowing Kaminski to fire into the roof of the net from eight yards with relatively little pressure. Kaminski had already seen another effort blocked earlier in the match.
Milan continued to search for a way back into the game. Yunus Musah failed to make clean contact with a chance following Diego Moreira’s introduction, while Pulisic forced Trubin into a save at the near bottom corner after receiving the ball from Alexis Saelemaekers.
The Europa League defeat highlights Milan’s scoring problems
The Rossoneri created further opportunities late on, with Adrien Rabiot shooting just over and Trubin making another important intervention to push a Pulisic snapshot around the base of the far post.
Despite those chances, Milan could not find a goal and began their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 home defeat. Benfica’s defence held firm after taking control of the contest in the second half.
The defeat also underlined Milan’s difficulties in front of goal. The statistics show that all but one of their goals this season have been scored during a five-minute spell between the 64th and 69th minutes, with the only exception being an own goal against Venezia.
For Amorim, the European setback came after the back-to-back Serie A draws with Juventus and Lazio, adding further scrutiny to his decisions as Milan look to find greater consistency in attack.