Amorim vows to avoid repeating Man United mistakes as AC Milan beat Lecce 3-0

Ruben Amorim has pledged not to repeat the tactical rigidity that cost him his job at Manchester United, after guiding AC Milan to a 3-0 Serie A victory over Lecce on Sunday — a result that eased pressure on the Portuguese coach following a three-game winless run.

Christian Pulisic, Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira scored as Milan produced what Amorim described as their most complete performance of the season. The win came just days after a 2-0 Europa League defeat to Benfica had intensified scrutiny on the 41-year-old, who was appointed at San Siro in June after being sacked by United in January.

Amorim was dismissed at Old Trafford following a turbulent 14-month spell in which he won just 24 of his 63 matches in charge. A central criticism during that period was his insistence on a rigid 3-4-3 system and a reluctance to adapt in matches, with United growing frustrated at the team’s lack of visible progress.

Speaking after the Lecce win, Amorim acknowledged he had identified the same warning signs at Milan. “What I felt in the last games is the same that I felt at Manchester United, and I cannot make the same mistake,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t have the perfect characteristics to play in that way, and if we don’t have it, we have to adapt.”

The key adjustment against Lecce was granting his players greater positional freedom, particularly in their runs in behind the opposition defence. “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,” Amorim explained. “We have space to run into and that is a good thing.”

Amorim was also candid about the specific demands of managing in Serie A, noting that Italian coaches are tactically astute enough to neutralise predictable systems. “The managers are really smart, they mark really well one against one, and when they lose the reference of what we want to do, it’s harder for them to understand the mobility,” he said, adding that having multiple ways of playing would be essential.

Despite retaining his preferred back-three shape, Amorim indicated the system’s internal mechanics would continue to evolve. “In another game we can return to the build-up with three — the important thing is to have different ways of playing,” he said.

Milan’s record under Amorim now stands at three wins, two draws and one defeat from six matches, a modest but improving return as the club looks to rediscover consistency in the Italian top flight.