Never right from minute one: Amorim’s worrying trend with starting XIs and substitutions

Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan are digging themselves a hole with their first-half performances, and the starting line-ups might be to blame.

Milan’s loss against Benfica confirmed what everyone has been saying about them so far: they start games poorly. The starting XI always seems wrong and Amorim, who decides that line-up, is naturally the first in the firing line.

A list or errors already

In the league opener against Torino, Milan began without Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot, who came on in the 56th minute. After another 11 minutes, Milan took the lead and went on to win the match. Decisive substitutions, with Rabiot inspiring the victory (a goal and an assist).

Matchday two: Milan 2-0 Venezia. Rabiot started again on the bench, coming on with the score at 0-0, and the Rossoneri scored twice in the final 20 minutes.

Matchday three: Juventus 1-1 Milan: Amorim made three substitutions after an hour (Loftus-Cheek, Cisse, and Chukwueze for Saelemaekers, Rabiot, and Diego Moreira) and only then took the lead. A familiar scene.

Matchday four: Lazio 2-2 Milan was one-sided in the first half, then Amorim changed direction. At half-time, he brought on Musah, Moreira, and Pulisic, who changed the pace of the match. With them, Milan tripled the intensity, drew level, and could have won.

What do all these examples suggest? That Amorim has a problem with selecting his starting 11. At a press conference on Tuesday, he explained why he’s trying out new starters like Hutchinson and Terracciano, who started but were taken off after 45 minutes.

“It’s not possible to face a season with 11 or 14 players. To reach the final, we need to manage the rotations well,” he said. The reality is that Amorim wants to give every player playing time over the next month, with equal opportunities. Can he afford it? Is it a sensible decision?

This way you can’t create an established side, meaning no one really gains confidence nor chemistry. Milan’s starting line-up is pretty clear in everyone’s minds but they never all play together, which is a problem.

One number above all is striking: in four league games and one Europa League match, Milan have not scored a single goal in the first half. For Amorim, the time has come to simply choose the right team from minute one. So, on Sunday night against Lecce, a more ‘logical’ team is expected.