Italian media question Amorim's starting XIs as Milan rescue draw at Lazio

Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Lazio on Saturday, but the result did little to silence growing doubts about the former Manchester United manager’s methods in the Italian press.

Milan were, in the words of Gazzetta dello Sport, “frankly unrepresentable” in the opening 45 minutes before Amorim sent on three substitutes at the break — Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic and Diego Moreira. The trio transformed the game, with Moreira’s brace earning a point the Rossoneri had done little to deserve in the first half.

Amorim was candid in his post-match assessment. “In the first half, we weren’t ourselves, there was no energy,” he said. “While in the second, it was the opposite: there was energy, we had total control of the match. We got a point but we had to do much better and you can’t just play for one half.”

Milan sit fifth in Serie A with two wins and two draws from their opening four games, but the manner of those results has prompted scrutiny from two of Italy’s most prominent football publications.

Gazzetta dello Sport credited Amorim’s half-time triple substitution — described as a “triple coffee” — for rescuing the situation, yet stopped short of a full endorsement. “As for Amorim, once again his starting lineup was poor, and his substitutions were good,” their report concluded. “Whether that’s a virtue or a weakness is up to you to decide.”

Corriere Della Sera was more pointed in its criticism, noting that Amorim had “lashed out” at critics ahead of the Lazio trip, only for his side to then hand the hosts the first half on a plate. “Twenty blistering minutes at the start of the second half were enough for Milan to avoid their first defeat, but not to erase their doubts,” the outlet wrote, adding that the defence looked shaky, ball movement was slow, and key players were struggling — with Luka Modrić singled out for his worst performance since joining the club.

The Italian media’s verdict points to a familiar pattern from Amorim’s time at Manchester United: tactical interventions from the bench that rescue situations his initial selections helped create. Whether that trend reflects an adaptable manager or a flawed one remains the central question hanging over his early weeks at the San Siro.