Wily veterans and the fountain of youth: The five key battles in Milan vs. Ferencvaros

AC Milan return to Europa League action at San Siro this evening for a must-win game against high-flyers Ferencvaros.

Starting their European campaign with two defeats (vs. Benfica and Bournemouth) and one win last left Milan down in 24th in the table, meaning that they need to turn things around if they are to mount a surge towards the top eight spots.

Tonight’s game will be far from straightforward though, as Ferencvaros have taken nine points from nine and therefore sit fourth in the table. They are 20 unbeaten across all competitions and are two points from the summit in their domestic league, with a game in hand to play.

Reports are suggesting that Ruben Amorim will turn to a youthful line-up for this one despite the status of being a must-win game. However, the spine of the team will still be made up of players who must deliver.

Starting with a rather unconventional battle, the one between the two goalkeepers Lorenzo Torriani and Dénes Dibusz could be potentially decisive, for obvious reasons. Ferencvaros have conceded just three goals in their three Europa games so far and just 10 in 10 in the league, and the 35-year-old veteran Dibusz has been a big part of that, even if there has been some rotation.

For Torriani, this is arguably his biggest opportunity in a Milan shirt. His only other start came in a Coppa Italia rout of Sassuolo, while he came off the bench in a Champions League defeat to Liverpool, and in the Bournemouth defeat. This is a huge chance for the 20-year-old to not only show he is a capable deputy in the present, but a potential Mike Maignan successor down the line.

There will also be two crucial duels involving the two Nagys, Oliver and Adam. The former will play at right-back and faces the difficult task of keeping Alphadjo Cisse quiet. The Italian is the Rossoneri’s top scorer this season and will be champing at the bit to build on his hat-trick against RB Salzburg. Oliver Nagy is dangerous going forward though, with two assists in his five starts, so Cisse will have to help out defensively too.

Adam Nagy meanwhile faces the task of stopping Milan’s second-top scorer, Adrien Rabiot. The Frenchman netted his fifth of the season in the derby against Inter, and Amorim has chosen to rely on his experience against an opponent who is also 31 years of age. The Hungarian signed from Spezia in the summer and is best known for his appearances at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 UEFA European Championships for his national team.

Ferencvaros have two main threats that Milan must keep quiet, especially the way that this game could play out with the visitors no doubt keen to contain and counter. Bamidele Yusuf is the first, and the Nigerian is expected to start up front this evening though he can also play and drift wide. He has six goals and three assists in 10 starts this season for the green and whites.

Sanhoun Diawara will have to do his bit to keep Yusuf quiet, but our feeling is that Koni De Winter will take on the man-marking duties just like he did with Inter’s lone striker Marcus Thuram in the derby. The Belgian has been undroppable in a literal sense, so we hope that no signs of fatigue are seen especially in transition, like against Bologna.

The visitors’ other danger man is Kristoffer Zachariassen, who matches Yusuf on nine goal contributions (seven goals, two assists) for the season. The 32-year-old Norwegian has plenty of experience and an eye for goal from the attacking midfield role, though his heat maps show he tends to drift to the right too.

So, it will be down to Ardon Jashari to keep tabs on him. Amorim and Milan are still waiting for the Swiss to put together a good run of solid starts after his arrival from Club Brugge for over €30m, and this is the kind of game that he needs to seize control of and dominate to show he is capable of being the anchor man, especially with Luka Modric’s retirement surely not far away.