Ruben Amorim described Milan’s 4-0 away win against RB Salzburg in the Europa League as a “beautiful evening,” but stressed that the team and several players, including Francesco Camarda and hat-trick hero Alphadjo Cisse, still have plenty of room for improvement.

“We have played better in other matches, but today we managed to score,” said the Portuguese coach.

Amorim after RB Salzburg 0-4 Milan: “In other games we had more control”

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the match, Amorim reiterated that Milan had delivered stronger performances in some of their previous games this season. The difference this time was mainly their ability to convert goalscoring chances.

“In other matches we had more control, but today we managed to score. We played better on other occasions, but we focus too much on the result. There are aspects to improve, but it was a beautiful evening,” Amorim said, as reported by TMW.

The coach was then asked about nineteen-year-old Alphadjo Cisse, who scored a hat-trick. According to the Portuguese manager, the youngster still has a lot of work to do to reach the highest level, despite the excellent start to his adventure in the Rossoneri shirt, with five goals in his first seven games.

“He owes me nothing. He deserves the opportunities he is getting because of what he is doing on his own,” Amorim explained. “He knows how to be explosive and has a lot of heart, but he can improve both in training and during matches. Tonight all the praise is for him, but he has great potential and there are still several aspects to work on.”

Amorim: “I disagree, we played better in other matches”

Amorim was asked why Milan took so long to produce a performance of this kind. The coach, however, does not consider the win against Salzburg the perfect game.

“I disagree. As a team we played better in other matches. If our opponents had been more precise, there would have been five situations where they could have hurt us.”
The match still gave playing time to several players who have had few opportunities in Serie A this season, including Omari Hutchinson, Ardon Jashari and Davide Bartesaghi.

“They are part of the squad. It is impossible to always play with the same players. It is important to rotate the players. There are some risks in doing so, but I try to make the best decisions for the team. Tonight it went well, now we focus on Atalanta,” said the coach.

Amorim then stressed the importance of maintaining high competitiveness within the group, so that every player is aware that they can step onto the pitch, but also that they risk losing their place.

“The most important thing is that everyone knows they can play and that they can lose their place. That is why I need 22 competitive players throughout the year. Matches like this help them gain more self-confidence.”

The coach explained that he is mainly thinking about the young players, but he also mentioned Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who showed greater aggression against Salzburg.

Camarda, Amorim’s advice: “He must improve his explosiveness and speed”

The match was also an opportunity to see the very young Francesco Camarda on the pitch. Unlike Cisse, however, the forward was unable to get equally involved in the flow of the game.

Amorim identified explosiveness and speed as the main areas the youngster must work on to make further progress.

“He must improve in terms of explosiveness and speed. That is what he lacks, because he already knows how to do many things inside the penalty area. We are working on these aspects,” explained the coach.
The manager nevertheless left the door open to a broader use of the young forward, confirming that Camarda will have the opportunity to play a full match.

“He knows he will have the chance to play all 90 minutes.”

Juventus responded emphatically to their 3-2 defeat by Sassuolo, beating NEC Nijmegen 5-0 at the Allianz Stadium in their opening Europa League league-phase match. Five different players found the net as the Bianconeri took control of the contest with a dominant first-half display.

The result also brought three first goals for Juventus players, while Kamil Grabara marked his debut with an assist. NEC enjoyed periods of possession and created several opportunities, but Juventus’ defence and goalkeeper Grabara prevented the visitors from seriously threatening the hosts.

Juventus makes a perfect Europa League start

Juventus needed less than nine minutes to take the lead after a major mistake from NEC. Grabara sent a long ball forward on his Juventus debut, while stand-in NEC goalkeeper Nikolas Polster rushed out of his area and completely misjudged the flight.

Nico Gonzalez took advantage, going around Polster before calmly rolling the ball into an empty net. The goal gave Grabara an assist on his first appearance for the club.

Alajbegovic doubled the advantage in the 24th minute. Weston McKennie carried the ball forward before finding the Bosnian on the edge of the penalty area, where he drilled his shot into the top corner for his first goal since arriving during the summer.

Juventus added a third ten minutes later when Almugera Kabar brought down Gonzalez inside the area. Nick Woltemade sent Polster the wrong way from the penalty spot to register his first Juventus goal.

NEC Nijmegen creates chances after the break

Despite the scoreline, NEC were not simply passive throughout the match. They had seven shots compared with Juventus’ five by half-time and enjoyed more possession, increasing their share to 67% during the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

Ayodele Thomas provided the visitors’ main threat, testing Grabara twice and beating Federico Gatti before delivering from the left. Dennis Geiger, who came on early after Clement Bischoff’s injury, also sent an effort narrowly over the crossbar.

Grabara remained largely untroubled, while Juventus’ defence continued to restrict NEC’s attacking opportunities. Luciano Spalletti also used his substitutes as the match progressed, with Gleison Bremer replacing McKennie on the hour as the American continued his return from injury.

Francisco Conceicao and Teun Koopmeiners also entered the game, replacing Gonzalez and the booked Douglas Luiz. Perr Schuurs came on in the 67th minute and was greeted by boos from the home supporters.

Juventus completes a five-goal Europa League win

Randal Kolo Muani needed only four minutes after replacing Alajbegovic to contribute to the scoring. He beat Tobias Storm and cut the ball back for Zeki Celik, who tapped home Juventus’ fourth goal and another first for the night.

Kolo Muani then got on the scoresheet himself in the 82nd minute. Jhon Lucumi released the Frenchman, who finished in a similar fashion to Gonzalez’s opener after Polster once again came charging out.

Conceicao came close with a long-range effort, while Augusto Owusu was given a late appearance. By then, however, the outcome had long been settled as Juventus completed a 5-0 victory.

For Spalletti, whose position had been openly discussed before kick-off and who had received public backing from sporting director Frederic Massara earlier in the day, the emphatic result provided some breathing space.

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.