RUBEN AMORIM CRITICISES AC MILAN PLAYERS AFTER FERENCVAROS DEFEAT

AC Milan head coach Ruben Amorim criticised his players’ approach after Ferencvaros beat his side 2-0 in the Europa League at the San Siro on Thursday. Lenny Joseph scored both goals in the second half, giving Milan their third defeat in four matches in the competition. Amorim questioned his squad’s ability to manage competing commitments, saying: “We are not ready to compete on two fronts.” He declined to defend the performance, saying he usually had plenty to say in support of his team but could offer no excuses that evening.

Milan rested centre-back Strahinja Pavlovic after he had played almost every minute of the season. Amorim singled out Pavlovic’s application in training as the standard he wanted his other players to follow. “Everyone must train like Pavlovic,” Amorim said after the match. He added: “He is ready to die in training. He is a good example.”

Amorim said Milan needed to work on how they viewed football and approached matches. He called for greater humility and said he needed to find a way to change what he described as a “provincial mentality”. Discussing the first half, he said he could not remember another comparable opening-half performance from his side. He identified ambition and concentration as issues and said Milan had gifted opportunities through errors.