UEL | Milan 0-2 Benfica: Nightmare start to Europa League

Milan had a nightmare start to the Europa League with a 2-0 home defeat to Benfica, as coach Ruben Amorim is already feeling the pressure over his decisions.

The Rossoneri returned to Europe after back-to-back Serie A draws against Juventus and Lazio, but Amorim rotated giving Omari Hutchinson and Filippo Terracciano their first starts of the season, Davide Bartesaghi returning from injury, and a revamped midfield.

Benfica had won seven in a row, but with FC Porto coming up on Sunday, they rotated nine of their starting XI including ex-Parma defender Alessandro Circati. The Portuguese side had never previously beaten Milan, losing four and drawing two, including the 1963 and 1990 European Cup Finals.

Dodi Lukebakio fired an effort straight at Mike Maignan, but scored moments later with a similar move. He gathered down the right from Jakub Kaminski, cut inside chased by Bartesaghi and bent the left-foot finish into the far bottom corner from the edge of the area.

It was nearly 0-2 on 24 minutes, as Ardon Jashari gave it away cheaply and Georgiy Sudakov drilled onto the base of the far post from the D.

The first real Milan response came when Anatoliy Trubin flew to palm away the long-range Filippo Terracciano screamer, while Goncalo Ramos failed to connect with the Bartesaghi roll across.

Jashari blasted just over from the edge of the box, but for the fifth time under Ruben Amorim, they failed to score in the first half.

Christian Pulisic and Mario Gila came on for the restart, but Koni De Winter horribly scuffed wide after good work from Alphadjo Cisse from eight yards.

Instead, Benfica doubled their lead when El Karouani pulled back from the left for Kaminski to fire into the roof of the net relatively undisturbed from eight yards, having previously seen an attempt charged down.

Yunus Musah also hit a fresh-air shot after Diego Moreira’s introduction, while Pulisic forced a save from Trubin at the near bottom corner on the Alexis Saelemaekers lay-off.

Adrien Rabiot blasted just over, while Trubin got down to push the Pulisic snapshot round the base of the far post.

The statistics are concerning, as all but one of Milan’s goals this season have come in a five-minute period from the 64th to the 69th, save for an own goal against Venezia.

Milan 0-2 Benfica

Lukebakio 16 (B), Kaminski 54 (B)

16-09-2026 20:00

MatchDay 1

Player statistic

1st half

2nd half

Milan

Benfica

Starting lineups

16 Mike Maignan Goalkeeper

33 Davide Bartesaghi Defender 57'

5 Koni De Winter Defender

31 Strahinja Pavlovic Defender

30 Ardon Jashari Midfielder 73'

42 Filippo Terracciano Midfielder 46'

20 Omari Hutchinson Midfielder 46'

80 Yunus Musah Midfielder

70 Alphadjo Cissè Attacker 57'

9 Gonçalo Ramos Attacker

21 Samuel Chukwueze Attacker

1 Anatoliy Trubin Goalkeeper

3 Alessandro Circati Defender

58 Daniel Banjaqui Defender

34 Souffian El Karouani Defender 88'

44 Tomás Araújo Defender

8 Fredrik Aursnes Midfielder 70'

10 Georgiy Sudakov Midfielder 70'

13 Jakub Kaminski Midfielder 80'

36 João Palhinha Midfielder

11 Dodi Lukébakio Attacker

22 Jhon Durán Attacker 80'

Substitutes

23 Fikayo Tomori Defender

46 Matteo Gabbia Defender

8 Ruben Loftus-Cheek Midfielder

14 Luka Modric Midfielder

2 Pervis Estupiñán Defender

73 Francesco Camarda Attacker

96 Lorenzo Torriani Goalkeeper

11 Christian Pulisic Attacker 46'

34 Mario Gila Defender 46'

56 Alexis Saelemaekers Midfielder 57'

22 Diego Moreira Attacker 57'

12 Adrien Rabiot Midfielder 73'

2 Clément Lenglet Defender

27 Rafa Silva Attacker

24 Samuel Soares Goalkeeper

5 Enzo Barrenechea Midfielder

16 Manu Silva Midfielder

30 Claudio Echeverri Midfielder

72 Anísio Cabral Attacker

18 Leandro Barreiro Midfielder 70'

25 Gianluca Prestianni Attacker 70'

14 Vangelis Pavlidis Attacker 80'

21 Andreas Schjelderup Midfielder 80'

26 Samuel Dahl Midfielder 88'