Amorim Fumes as Milan Throw Away Two Points in Sassuolo Draw

AC Milan were forced to settle for a single point at the MAPEI Stadium on Sunday, as Ruben Amorim's unbeaten start to life in the dugout continued but his frustration grew following a 1-1 draw away to Sassuolo.

Rabiot strikes, then Milan switch off

Milan took the lead in the 63rd minute when substitute Luka Modric slipped Adrien Rabiot into the box, with the French midfielder rifling in at Arijanet Muric's near post. Sassuolo hit back just five minutes later through Cas Odenthal, who swept in from close range after the visitors failed to deal with a low corner into the penalty area. Kristian Thorstvedt then had a goal ruled out late on for a foul on Goncalo Ramos in the build-up.

The result leaves Milan unbeaten in each of their first six Serie A matches of a season for the first time since 2022-23, but they have also drawn three times in their first six matchdays for the first time since 2018-19. It is now three stalemates in the Rossoneri's last four league games.

"We can't afford to concede like that"

Amorim did not hide his disappointment, singling out the manner of the equaliser.

"We deserved to take the lead, but then, after the goal, we didn't control the game, and we needed to control the game with the ball," Amorim told DAZN Italia, as quoted by Football Italia. "We could drop or try to defend. We continued to push, because the momentum was with us, but not in the right way. When we had the ball, we lost it really fast. That can happen, but what cannot happen is to concede that goal from the corner."

Speaking to Sky 24 afterwards, the Portuguese was even blunter about the cost of the dropped points.

"We deserved the lead, but after the goal, it's clear we should have managed the game better, kept more possession, and curbed the opponent's reaction. We can't afford to concede goals from corners," he said via MilanNews. "It's clear we can't be satisfied when we throw away two points like that."

Mentality and transitions in focus

Amorim stressed that his side must reduce the number of transitions they concede and place greater value on controlling possession, particularly after going ahead.

"We need to keep doing what we were doing until the goal and then keep going, keep possession and not make the game about transitions. Clearly, as you saw, we wanted to control the game, push forward, find the right combinations, and play well," he said.

"Sometimes it's a question of mentality: you score a goal and you have to keep pushing, because it's clear that the opponent wants to try to react, and so we should have had much more possession."

Modric's introduction reshapes the midfield

The introduction of Modric at half-time allowed Rabiot to play in a more advanced midfield role, and the Frenchman continued his fine run of form in front of goal. Only Roma's Donyell Malen (six) has registered more goal involvements than Rabiot (five – three goals, two assists) in Serie A this season.

Amorim, who replaced Pervis Estupinan with Modric, said the change was about the team's rotation rather than any single individual.

"I don't think it's about individual players, it's the rotation of the team, and they have different characteristics," he explained. "You know Rabiot is going to get the ball down near the midfielders, Moreira is a completely different player in that position. Modric gave us more possession with the ball.

"But then we suffered a little more in transitions. It becomes us trying to control the game in their half and them going just for transitions, even on corners. I think we defended quite well man-versus-man, but when we scored, we needed to kill time a little bit, and we didn't do that."

Build-up play and the final third

The Milan boss also revealed where his side's work on the training ground is currently focused, noting that they lacked the right combinations in the attacking third.

"We're working on our build-up play now, and you can see it in some phases of the game. However, we need to work better on our combinations in the final third of the pitch; at times, they managed to close us down in midfield and block our path on the left flank, and in those situations, we should have started looking for players inside the pitch a bit more," he said.

Despite the disappointment, there was a sense that Milan looked more flexible in shape than the rigid approach seen earlier in the season, a sign Amorim has recognised what suits the team and is willing to adapt to their strengths.

Gabbia injury compounds the frustration

There was a tough moment for defender Matteo Gabbia in the first half, with the Italian leaving the field on a stretcher and in tears after sustaining an injury while stretching to try to retrieve possession. His first league start of the season lasted just 20 minutes.

"I don't know what kind of injury Gabbia has, but I'm really sad for [him]," Amorim said. "Because he works really hard, he deserved his spot in the team, and then to have this situation so early is hard for him.

"We had a few weeks with no games and everyone was fit. Now we have games, we have the situation with Alexis Saelemaekers and Gabbia. We'll just have to wait and see."