Bournemouth fans mock Amorim again as Milan slump to 3-0 Europa League defeat

Ruben Amorim suffered a humbling 3-0 Europa League defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday, with home supporters gleefully reminding the former Manchester United head coach that the Cherries had never lost to him — and still haven’t.

Justin Kluivert converted a penalty inside eight minutes to put Bournemouth ahead, and Milan’s night unravelled further when goalkeeper Mike Maignan was sent off. Amorim’s attempt to bring on replacement keeper Lorenzo Torriani led to winger Omari Hutchinson being withdrawn. Marcus Tavernier then converted the resulting spot-kick, and Amine Adli added a third late on to complete a comprehensive victory.

As the final whistle approached, the Bournemouth crowd serenaded Amorim with chants of “Ruben Amorim, it’s happened again” — a reference to his two winless meetings with the club during his time at Old Trafford. United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth in December 2024 before drawing 4-4 at the same ground a year later.

A visibly frustrated Amorim was blunt in his post-match assessment. “The penalty on the corner and the red card changed everything,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “So it was not a game; it was not a game. We didn’t have time to recover from the first penalty; we tried to push in the end, but the third goal made it even harder for us.”

He continued to press the point: “You cannot have a penalty in that corner, and you cannot get sent off in that situation. We cannot do that; we need to keep 11 players on the pitch.”

Despite being reduced to ten men, Amorim declined to abandon his three-at-the-back system. “They know this way of defending,” he explained. “I try to put my players in the most comfortable position and try to change the game with substitutions.”

The result leaves Milan in a precarious position in the Europa League, sitting 24th in the league-phase standings after losing two of their three matches. Domestically, the picture is more stable — they remain unbeaten in Serie A, though four draws from seven games have left them fourth in the table rather than among the early pacesetters.