Milan Wins With Its Star Players on the Field (Including Modric): Ruben Amorim’s Clarification
Milan returned to winning ways and put in a convincing performance in Serie A after a night to forget in the Europa League, and one of the keys to their success against Lecce was Ruben Amorim’s decision to once again rely on the team’s star players. Among them were Christian Pulisic and Adrien Rabiot, both of whom scored after starting the match, as well as Luka Modric, who also started. And it was precisely the Croatian star that the Rossoneri coach focused on in his post-match comments.
“Modric is a player who needs to see the ball often to perform at his best. For this reason, he may sometimes struggle more in certain games, especially when we need to play more on the counterattack. He’s more comfortable when the defensive line is deeper, but I still believe he’s ready to play any kind of game,” Amorim clarified in a postgame interview with ‘DAZN’.
“When you coach big teams like Milan, you have to listen to the players before making any kind of decision, and that’s what I did,” Amorim explained. “Then, finding a team identity is always complicated; we still have a lot of work to do, but we’re learning and improving. Compared to our last few games, we played with more mental freedom. We dropped two points against both Juventus and Lazio, but we’re doing well and probably deserved more.”
The 3-0 win at San Siro was secured by goals from Pulisic, Rabiot, and Diego Moreira, with the latter playing an increasingly central role in Amorim’s tactical setup. The Rossoneri reclaim fifth place in the standings, moving to within one point of the Champions League zone and just two points behind the top spot, currently shared by Roma, Inter, and Lazio. It was a commanding victory: the opening goal came as early as the 14th minute thanks to a moment of brilliance from Pulisic, who skillfully collected a great through ball from Pavlovic and fired a precise left-footed shot that left Falcone helpless. The second goal came in the 61st minute from Rabiot, following a play initiated by Pulisic, while in the 73rd minute, it was Moreira—who had just come on for Saelemaekers—who made it three by capitalizing on a mistake by Siebert.
This victory takes on even greater significance given the context in which it was achieved. In recent days, Gerry Cardinale had reaffirmed his confidence in Amorim despite the boos at San Siro following the loss to Benfica in the Europa League, but the RedBird owner had also made it clear that he was not satisfied with the team’s performance, going so far as to summon the Portuguese coach for a face-to-face meeting. Amorim himself, on the eve of the match, had tried to defuse the controversy: “The team is ready for the game; we can’t change the past, but we can change the next game. My approach to soccer isn’t based on the formation, but on principles: that’s what matters.”
The evening also serves as a response to the controversy that erupted after the loss to Benfica, when Ardon Jashari’s statements sparked debate. The Swiss midfielder, who had a lackluster performance in the Europa League, had publicly admitted his share of the blame, but this sparked comparisons among fans with Modric, who remained on the bench in that match. Tonight, the Croatian responded by starting the match, confirming what Amorim had already emphasized in a press conference in recent weeks: “He always controls the tempo of the game and understands it better than anyone else.”
