Milan-Benfica 0-2: A Warning Sign That Cannot Be Ignored
After 5 matches this season and very few positive notes, it is time to start asking ourselves what we really want to do. The road ahead looks dark and steep, and we need to figure out where to start in order to try to turn things around. The defeat against Benfica was just the latest alarm bell of this season’s opening.
Declining Play, Disoriented Players
The quality of play is in constant decline, with the exception of the second half against Lazio. The players on the pitch look increasingly confused and disoriented, and in the worst cases, clearly unsuited to playing matches at this level. One should therefore only turn to whoever is steering this ship through the stormy seas. Ruben Amorim‘s supposed desire to dominate and his fighting spirit have so far produced few results. The unbeaten run in the league is relative when one realises that the team is clearly behind at least four other sides in terms of quality and gameplay.
Leaky Defence, Ideaeless Attack
The flashes of class shown by a handful of players are not enough to carry a squad that is clearly struggling in every department. The defence suffers both from opponents’ through balls and from colossal individual errors that are leading to goals with increasing frequency. The attack, meanwhile, seems to lack any underlying idea, with moves built without logic and players who cannot even touch the ball in the air or get a shot off for the entire duration of the match.
What Can Amorim Do?
In light of all this, Amorim should be asked how he plans to fix the situation and which players he intends to rely on. The situation is worrying, precisely because of the lack of quality play and individual talent to lean on. The immediate solution could be to make some tactical changes and try to establish a consistent starting lineup — something that has been entirely absent so far. But the road ahead is still very long, and things certainly will not change in the immediate future.
The Weight of Summer Mistakes
The transfer market mistakes made in the summer and the on-pitch errors of this early season will continue to take their toll, until a solution is found to breathe new life into this Milan side. One should have faith, but after last night’s performance, that is almost impossible.
