Milan, Ramos is not the problem – the attacking phase is: Amorim has few quality options in attacking midfield and up front, the figures

Ramos goalless for 450 minutes: Portuguese striker also pays the price for structural problems at AC Milan

Fresh from an exhilarating spell with Portugal, where he scored 3 goals in 4 matches, Gonçalo Ramos struggled again in a Milan shirt yesterday against Sassuolo. The former PSG player has not scored since the second matchday against Venezia: 40 days and 450 minutes without a goal. He covered more than 10 km in another hard-working display, but Milan need goals from their number nine.

Blaming Ramos today is easy, but the figures show that Milan's performances at the start of this season don't justify it.

The numbers

In 90 minutes plus stoppage time at the Mapei Stadium, Ramos had just two chances within the space of a minute, both at the end of the first half. Muric saved his left-footed shot after an excellent individual move, then denied his close-range header. The former PSG player could have done better with the second.

While Ramos needs to improve his performances, the team need to give him more and better service. Yesterday, the Portugal international was barely involved in the play. He moved around as he always does, but his team-mates rarely found him.

Across 90 minutes, he touched the ball just 34 times, made 14 passes to his team-mates and attempted four dribbles without completing any of them.

Few quality attacking options

Amorim and Cardinale probably got it wrong by sending Nkunku to Leipzig only on loan while covering 60% of his wages. Milan have few genuine attacking options: Loftus-Cheek offers no guarantees, while Hutchinson has shown little so far. Apart from Pulisic, Milan's attacking midfielders offer little goal threat. Cissè is an important asset, but Milan need to get him to peak fitness and manage him carefully given his young age. Camarda's lack of minutes is surprising. Yesterday, too, he spent all 94 minutes of the match on the bench.

Amorim’s responsibilities

Amorim's responsibilities are clear, but Milan's problems at No. 9 go back a long way. The Portuguese manager played a key role in assembling the squad and deciding which players to keep. Now he must find tactical solutions and adapt the team's playing style to put Ramos in a position to score goals. Plenty of them, given the expectations Goncalo will carry throughout the season.