Amorim: ‘Milan freedom, I can’t make same Manchester United mistakes’

Ruben Amorim admits he gave Milan ‘more freedom’ in the 3-0 win over Lecce, because he ‘cannot make the same mistakes as Manchester United’ when getting fixated on systems.

The coach had been starting to feel the pressure after back-to-back Serie A draws with Juventus and Lazio, then a painful 2-0 Europa League home defeat to Benfica.

This prompted some adjustments, including building out from the back with four rather than three, spreading Mario Gila slightly wider.

Above all, it was the first start for Christian Pulisic, who promptly broke the deadlock with his first club goal of 2026, followed by Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira in the second half to sweep Lecce aside 3-0.

Amorim’s Milan learned from Manchester United errors

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Ruben Amorim, Manager of AC Milan, interacts with Christian Pulisic of AC Milan as he is substituted off during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“I think we improved a lot,” Amorim told DAZN Italia.

“The freedom in the players, the movement, especially the runs behind, so we are not just a team that has the ball, we are a team that is dangerous.

“We have space to run into and that is a good thing, we controlled the game, we understood the opposition were waiting for our mistake, but we defended quite well and deserved the win.”

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Mario Gila of AC Milan passes the ball under pressure from Joel Monteiro of U.S. Lecce during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

It was put to Amorim that the last Milan coach to pick up 11 points in his first five Serie A games, calculating three points for a win, was Nils Liedholm in 1963.

“It’s a good statistic, but this is a different time,” he smiled.

“We have a lot to do, but we are improving and we are learning. We had difficulties in the last games, because the structure was really blocked in the positions, but the players had a little more freedom, and they played better with a little more freedom.”

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Goncalo Ramos of AC Milan celebrates after team mate Adrien Rabiot scores his team’s second goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

What prompted the allowance of this greater freedom, did the players come to Amorim and ask for tactical adjustments?

“It’s an observation of the games and the characteristics. Of course I listen to the players, but a manager especially in a big team is always listening to the players, seeing and understanding them, but every players wants to push the game towards their characteristics, and if you want to have an identity, that is hard,” replied Amorim.

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Adrien Rabiot of AC Milan celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammate Koni De Winter during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“It’s always my decision. What I felt in the last games is the same that I felt at Manchester United, and I cannot make the same mistake. Sometimes we don’t have the perfect characteristics to play in that way, and if we don’t have it, we have to adapt.

“I think today worked, in another game we can return to the build-up with three, the important thing is to have different ways of playing. That’s especially important in Italy, because the managers are really smart, they mark really well one against one, and when they lost the reference of what we want to do, it’s harder for them to understand the mobility, just as they make it harder for me to understand their teams.”

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Players of AC Milan pose for a team photograph before the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

There has been so much debate around the role of Luka Modric, who returned to the starting XI after being taken off against Lazio at half-time and left on the bench against Benfica.

“We need to have the ball a lot for him to give the best, but he is ready to play every game that we need him to play. In some games, for instance the first half against Lazio, if it’s just transitions, then it’s not a good game for Luka, but it’s not good for Ardon Jashari either,” explained Amorim.

“We have to look at the characteristics that we have, so when it’s this kind of game with low blocks, we can use a lot of Modric. We’ll see the rest, but he is ready to play any kind of game.”

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Danilo Veiga of U.S. Lecce battles for the ball with Alexis Saelemaekers of AC Milan during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Milan go into the break for international duty on 11 points from five rounds, two off the group of leaders Roma, Inter and Lazio.

“If you look at the way we play, Roma and Inter had more time as a team, you can see the patterns are there. We didn’t lose so many points, we dropped two to Lazio and Juventus away, so not everything is bad.

“Sometimes it looks like that, especially after recent results, but we have to see the balance. We won today against a good team that is doing well, but it is a different team, and sometimes we are going to have issues. It’s a process, I think we should have more points, as against Juventus we weren’t playing so well, but we were 30 seconds off getting three points.

“Even against Lazio, if you look at the balance of the game, I fell we deserved a little bit more.”

ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Diego Moreira of AC Milan scores his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and US Lecce at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 20, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

There had been a few glimpses of the kind of football the Portuguese tactician wanted to see, but this was the first really impressive performance, including around 70 per cent possession.

It was also the first goal scored by Milan in the first half so far this season, a sign of a more focused initial approach.