Rúben Amorim Addresses Milan's Pressure and Player Development

Rúben Amorim leans into the storm. On the eve of Milan’s trip to Lazio, the Portuguese coach brushed off the noise around his start at San Siro, backed a teenage starlet tipped for Italy, and admitted one of his biggest names is far from happy.

Amorim: “Criticism? I’ve had worse”

Milan are unbeaten – two wins and a draw – but the stalemate with Juventus has stirred up familiar debate about style, risk and what this new Rossoneri are supposed to look like.

“The last game wasn’t just static; I think we lacked energy,” Amorim said on Friday. “We controlled the ball quite well, especially in the first half, but then we lacked aggression in the final third and inside the box.”

The coach didn’t spare his players in the video room.

“I showed the players that a lot of opportunities for Juve came from us losing the ball, sometimes even without pressure. Just a sloppy pass. Those details can change the game and the momentum. We worked on that, and we need to do better.”

Gonçalo Ramos, outstanding against Torino and Venezia, took plenty of heat for his display in Turin. Amorim pushed back, but not by shielding him – by widening the lens.

“I think we need to improve as a team. Ramos did so well against Torino and Venezia that, in a game where he doesn’t have the same performance, you notice it. It’s more about the understanding of the game from all the players in the team.”

Then came the inevitable question about the pressure and the criticism that has already begun to circle.

“Criticism is normal. I already experienced that in my former club [Manchester United]. More than that, it’s impossible,” he said. “What I promise is that the team is always in first place.”

He knows exactly what Milan asked for when they hired him.

“My intention, and what they asked me to do, was to be positive and score goals. Sometimes we want to score goals and be positive, but then there’s the opponent, and maybe Spalletti – your Spalletti – is really good and they pushed us back. We had the ball more than Juventus. Sometimes even when I have the ball, the other guy is better than me, but that doesn’t change the intention you have.”

Amorim bristled at the idea that his Milan are reactive or improvised.

“If you look at our team, we always have an intention; you can’t see anything that is random. Sometimes we want certain patterns that are hard for the players. I understand the pressure. I understand that when you see a guy coming from abroad to say how to play your football, it is really hard, and in the first moment you are just waiting to tell me that in my face.

“I understand, but what I can promise is that the team will always be in first place. I want to dominate games, but then Spalletti, Fabregas, all these guys, they are really good and will push us.

“What’s really important is to be good in the last set pieces of the game because if we win, some guys will have to keep that question in their pocket for one more week. The only thing I promise is the club will always be in first place. My intention is always to be better than the opponent in a certain way. I’ll try. But then you have the opponents; Spalletti was better than me, and that doesn’t change.”

Cissé “ready” for Italy – but still learning San Siro

If one player has cut through the tactical debate, it’s Alphadjo Cissé. Two goals in three Serie A games, a fearless edge, and now, according to reports in Italy, a likely first call-up to Luciano Spalletti’s Azzurri squad later this month.

Amorim didn’t flinch when asked if the 18-year-old is prepared for that stage.

“If you put Cissé on the pitch, he’s going to play. Doesn’t matter if he’s with the national team, with Bastoni or with these guys,” he said. “He’s going to play, free. For that, he’s ready.”

Then came the nuance.

“But he needs time to grow up. I saw a bit of a difference when he plays away and when he plays at San Siro. San Siro is tough, so he needs to adjust to all these small things. Let’s give time to Cissé.

“If you put Cissé in training with the national team and playing with the national team, he won’t be shy, and he’s going to have the ball. So he’s ready, but he needs time to be the player he can be. He has a lot to learn.”

For Milan, that balance is the story: unleash his talent, protect his development, and live with the mistakes of a teenager already being talked about as Italy’s next attacking jewel.

Pulisic “upset” and waiting

If Cissé is on the rise, Christian Pulisic is stuck at the starting gate. Amorim confirmed the USMNT star will finally see his first minutes of the 2026-27 season, but admitted the forward is frustrated after three games on the bench.

The coach did not dress it up: Pulisic is “upset” with his lack of playing time. Amorim, though, framed that as the reaction he wants from a player of that profile, and hinted that the internal competition is only going to sharpen the squad.

How quickly Pulisic forces his way into the XI – and where he fits in this new structure – is one of the early subplots of Milan’s campaign.

Como’s Champions League surge? “Buy Fabregas”

While Milan wrestle with identity questions, Como have taken a very different route into the spotlight. Cesc Fabregas’ side were the only Serie A club to win in Champions League Round 1, outplaying RB Leipzig in a statement performance that turned heads across Italy.

Are Fabregas and Como a model for Milan’s long-term project? Amorim smiled and cut that idea down.

“I think we are different managers, with different backgrounds and work for different clubs,” he replied. “Mister Cardinale has never told me that [Como] is the inspiration, so you need to tell me, as I didn’t know.

“I have my way of playing; I think it will take time. Every manager needs time. You saw against Torino, the friendly against United, that we are improving. But if you want a team that plays like Como, you need to buy Como’s manager to play the same way.

“I’m completely different; I have my style of play, my identity. Coaching Milan is really hard; coaching Como and doing what they are doing in the Champions League is so hard, and they are doing so well, but I’m not focusing on how Como are playing; I focus on how Milan must play to win games.”

That is the line he keeps coming back to. His Milan, his ideas, his responsibility.

The pressure will not ease in Rome. Lazio away is no place for a coach under scrutiny to hide, no arena for a young forward like Cissé to drift through unnoticed, and no soft landing for a restless star like Pulisic.

If Amorim’s promise holds, though, the only answer that matters will come on the pitch – and the questions will have to wait in a few more pockets.