Milan took home all 3 points and the Rubén Amorim era is already off to a better start than the Allegri 2.0 era. We can all be grateful for the win, especially as the starting lineup was filled with…guys who play football. Not everything was perfect but it wasn’t all doom-and-gloom either. Most important for me was finally getting to see what Amorim is trying to do in a meaningful game so we can have some sense of what he’s trying to implement and accomplish at Milan.
So, let’s dive in and talk about matchday 1.
In the first 60 seconds of this game, Amorim’s Milan produced a more fluid, coherent, and beautiful attack than Allegri produced last season in 42 games. That run down the right, while not quite duplicated for the rest of the game, showed a very real glimpse of what I hope is Amorim-ball. What did continue on for the whole game minus after going up 0-2, was an aggressively attacking and pressing Milan side. While Amorim maybe didn’t have the most time with the squad in the preseason, certainly not with all the players present and available, he seemed to drill into them that he wants to see them run and run some more.
While this helter-skelter pace gives me concerns for the long season and a not-so-deep bench, it was a welcome sight after the terrorist ball from last season. How this holds up and plays against teams once they get enough video of it will also be interesting. Everything is easier when the other side hasn’t seen it and doesn’t know what to expect (yes, there’s plenty of video footage of Amorim coaching at Sporting and then ManU, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to do it the exact same with this squad, in this league).
But things were very much as advertised with Amorim Ball (and discussed in the Welcome Amorim post). The team pressed and pressed hard. They built up through the middle and switched the play more than I can think of a Milan side doing in recent memory. The play was direct and enjoyable to watch.
A lot of the focus, including me, was on the starting lineup. And to be honest, it still was a concern until the subs came in around the 60th minute mark. New signing, 19yr old Italian Alphadjo Cissé, showed some promise, including a well-taken goal to open up the scoring both for the team and also his top flight career. But he also played rather poorly during a lot of the match before that. Obviously he’s still young and some grace is warranted, but moving forward he’s going to need to improve his decision-making while on the ball. It’s clear he’s got some talent though.
I thought Gonçalo Ramos played really well and it’s evident he knows how to play the striker position both in technique but also positioning (his motor and pressing was good too). He didn’t score or assist but I think that was more a byproduct of the meh midfield for most of the game. Get the regular guys in there, or at least who we think we’ll be regular starters, and I think the guy is going to produce.
Chukwueze also had a nice debut after being loaned out last season. Lots of good 1:1 takes but Serie A’s going to start taking that away. Still, maybe he finds space in Amorim’s side. Jashari was really good defensively, which is fine, but with Musah next to him I want to see him moving forward more because he definitely has the skillset and the team needs the umph offensively.
Finally on the players, it’s clear we don’t need to worry about Maignan and Rabiot. They’re fine…they’re fine.
Now for the things that I’m still thinking about, or worrying about and give me concern.
Amorim is going to run these guys ragged. Running all game with intensity can win vs these smaller sides but they’ll need good technique vs the better clubs or they’ll get burned like he did at ManU. It also makes we worried about the thin bench and an injury-prone Pulisic, especially if Pulisic is being counted on to help create offense. Shipping out guys is fine, but if they are able to offload some guys then they need to backfill because while it’s not the two fronts we wanted Milan fighting on, Milan is going to make a go of it for Europa. The bench will thin out quickly with just a few players getting injured.
Amorim got a Torino side unfamiliar to us in terms of style. Amorim mentioned in his press conference before the game that he expected Torino to want to get out and run with Abate at the helm, and they did just that. Amorim football looked good in that open game…but so did Pioli, Fonseca, Conceição. Heck, even Allegri thrived when a team didn’t buckle down in a low block. Most small teams are not going to do that and then we’ll get to see what Amorim can do. Pioli figured it out, Fonseca, Conceição, and Allegri less so. Will Amorim?
Answers to this will come in the next weeks and months. But let’s enjoy the win out the gate…
What Happened in Serie A
Ok, going to start doing my own top 5 power rankings. Here’s my first stab at it:
- Inter
- Roma
- Como
- Milan
- Juventus
Yes, I know Como drew but I still think they’re the 3rd best team RIGHT NOW. I have Milan that high mostly because the other teams suck and we don’t know what we have…yet. And I’m intrigued by Atalanta and Sarri but I know Sarri usually doesn’t thrive in his first year in charge.
Anyway, Inter and Roma looked good beating their oppponents 4-1 and 4-0. Allegri came out with a 4-3-3 formation and for that he can f**k all the way off. Anyway, his terrorist ball won 2-0. Lecce also won 2-0 but who cares, they’ll be struggling to stay up. Juventus and Lazio each won 1-0 to round out all of the matchday 1 winners.
We know Como drew but a hiccup if you ask me. Everything else was mostly chalk. One thing to note: Fiorentina. I know a lot of folks out there (mostly out there and not here at the Fossa) were big on them, looking to see what they might be able to do. It’s obviously one game but losing by 4 goals is never good. Another year flirting with relegation could be in the cards.
Now, ratings.
Player Ratings
Goal Keeping
MAIGNAN 6.5 – Maybe he didn’t need a long preseason!
Goal Keeping Overall 6.5
Defense
GILA 7 – Solid debut until he got injured. I mean, yikes. I’ve never seen Tomori get burnt like that. Alieu Njie literally broke something on him. Hope he hasn’t been oversold to us.
DE WINTER 7 – Solid.
PAVLOVIĆ 7 – Didn’t get forward as much as we’ve seen him over the last couple of years. I wonder if this is how Amorim is going to use him.
Defense Overall 7
Midfield
CHUKWUEZE 8 – What a way to come back to the team after being out on loan with an option to buy last season. Just like Saelemaekers…who also had a decent return to start. Let’s hope he doesn’t have a similar fade as the season rolls on.
JASHARI 7 – I thought he was solid but needs to assert himself more offensively.
MUSAH 7 – Like Chukwueze, Musah returned to the team and ran just like he used to. He didn’t do much else and he left me wondering what else can provide…
ESTUPIÑAN 6 – Invisible and not in a good way. All the impactful wingback play came from the other side. Even Bartesaghi got in a more productive run 3 minutes after entering than Estupiñan had all game.
Midfield Overall 7
Forwards
LOFTUS-CHEEK 6 – Every coach just can’t help themselves with this guy. It’s like they’re hypnotized by his physical traits. It’s happened with Pioli, Fonseca, Conceição, Allegri, and now Amorim. Needless to say Milan finally scored less than 10 minutes after he was subbed off because of course they did…
CISSÉ 8 – Welcome to the big leagues, kid. Work on that decision-making though. Torino seemed fine with letting you have the ball last and you proved them right up until your last touch.
RAMOS 7 – Like the guy. If the midfield pans out, he can probably score 20 goals this season.
Forwards Overall 7
Subs
RABIOT 8.5 MOTM – Homeboy really just came in off the street and played a banger of a game. Just continues to make me eat crow.
MODRIĆ 6.5 – Solid. Seemed to find his playmaking faster than Jashari did.
BARTESAGHI 6.5 – Thought he did fine. Curious to see what happens with him once Moreira is ready to go as Amorim seemed to indicate he’s going to challenge Chukwueze for playing time on the right. Which is fine but Milan can’t just have Bartesaghi as the only option on the left as Estupiñan was rumored to be out the door this summer.
SAELEMAEKERS 6.5 – Was fine.
GABBIA 6 – He played.
Subs Overall 6.5
Coaching
AMORIM 7 – Solid debut! Got the win, team had some quality moments. We’ll see when the talent is stronger (like vs top 4 teams) and/or when the mid and lower table teams park the bus. Anything is better than Allegri and he certainly was that for the day. Let’s see how it continues.
Final Thoughts
Alright! A lot to cover but we’re just starting the Amorim era. One week at a time and let’s see what happens. Next up is Venezia and that will likely be a more traditional lower table, low block type of team and more difficult to break through. Then the mercato closes the week after that. It’ll be a busy week or so.
Next game is this Friday at 2:45pm EST/6:45pm GMT.
Forza Milan
gillis
