Ruben Amorim became the first AC Milan manager to go unbeaten during his first seven Serie A games in charge in 63 years, after guiding the Rossoneri to a 3-2 win over Atalanta at the weekend.
Portuguese boss Amorim is only the third Milan coach to navigate the first seven matches of a league season undefeated, demonstrating the curious difficulty of the feat at San Siro. Luis Carniglia was the last to achieve the milestone in 1963, while the only other Milan manager to do so is Hector Puricelli in 1955 according to Opta.
Amorim has four victories and three draws so far, which has Milan in 4th place in the standings. Despite a reasonably solid foundation from his early steps in Serie A, the performances delivered by Milan have not always convinced everyone in the media.
However, Amorim received strong back from influential figures during some difficult results in September, including a Europa League defeat to Benfica. Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta urged supporters to remain patient, reminding the club’s following that even iconic manager Arrigo Sacci needed time to implement his ideas.
Renowned newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that Amorim has Milan “on the right track” following the win over Atalanta, but did warn of potential physical issues. The publication notes that Amorim’s high demands have currently led to the team struggling to perform for significant stretches in games.
Indeed, the 2-0 lead taken against Atalanta at half time on Saturday was a rare case of the Rossoneri scoring in the first half – in just one of their opening six matches did they strike before the interval.
Milan led Atalanta 3-0 before the visitors stages a late rally to make it close at 3-2, which led to further observations about the team’s inability to sustain performance levels across 90 minutes. Yet Gazzetta found space to praise Amorim for securing two victories across three days with major changes to his line-up.
We are improving - Amorim
For his part, Amorim believes progress is being made, despite Atalanta’s irritating late push for an equaliser, which led to goalscorers Adrien Rabiot and Mario Gila expressing their frustration after the match. French midfielder Rabiot admitted to being “angry that we stopped after playing so well” and suggested the win was barely deserved in the end.
“Of course, the result is the most important thing, but we also have to analyse the performance,” Amorim said. “I said we were improving as a team, the final minutes don’t change that, they just give us a clear idea that we have a lot of work to do.
“The momentum changed completely, as before the Atalanta goal, we were controlling the game and closer to a fourth goal than conceding a first, but some bad decisions especially in the build-up gave them opportunities, and we have to improve that.
“The squad rotation helped us a lot, they are working really hard. Of course, changing the way we press takes time, but we are understanding better the moments to press, and it seems easier when that happens to be in the right position,” continued Amorim.
“It was not just being tired, but the momentum changed. We were afraid of conceding when we should’ve been trying to score a fourth. I tried it with fresh midfielders, but the tension was felt not just in the squad, but in the stadium from the fans.”
Milan are back in Europa League action on Thursday with an intriguing trip to Premier League side Bournemouth. After the trip to England, Amorim’s men face away fixtures against Udinese and Bologna, before a derby with city rivals Inter at the end of this month.
