Amorim Addresses Criticism Ahead of Lazio Clash

Ruben Amorim shrugs off the noise. The criticism, the questions about style, the grumbling after Juventus – he has heard it all before, and at a far harsher volume.

“Criticism is normal,” the Milan coach said on Friday, ahead of the trip to Lazio. “I already experienced that in my former club [Manchester United]. More than that, it's impossible.”

Three games into the Serie A season, Milan are unbeaten with two wins and a draw, yet the debate around Amorim’s approach has already started. The 1-1 against Juventus, controlled for long spells but timid in the final third, has opened the door to familiar accusations: too cautious, too static, not ‘Milan’ enough.

Amorim doesn’t entirely disagree.

“The last game wasn't just static; I think we lacked energy,” he admitted. “We controlled the ball quite well, especially in the first half, but then we lacked aggression in the final third and inside the box.

“I showed the players that a lot of opportunities for Juve came from us losing the ball, sometimes even without pressure. Just a sloppy pass. Those details can change the game and the momentum. We worked on that, and we need to do better.”

Cissé ready for Italy – but “needs time to grow”

Amid the tactical scrutiny, one bright spark has cut through the gloom: Alphadjo Cissé. Two goals in his first three Serie A matches, decisive interventions, and now, according to reports in Italy, a first senior Italy call-up on the horizon.

Amorim has no doubt about the teenager’s mentality.

“If you put Cissé on the pitch, he's going to play. Doesn't matter if he's with the national team, with Bastoni or with these guys,” the Portuguese coach said. “He's going to play, free. For that, he's ready. But he needs time to grow up.”

The San Siro, though, is a different kind of classroom.

“I saw a bit of a difference when he plays away and when he plays at San Siro. San Siro is tough, so he needs to adjust to all these small things. Let's give time to Cissé.

“If you put Cissé in training with the national team and playing with the national team, he won't be shy, and he's going to have the ball. So he's ready, but he needs time to be the player he can be. He has a lot to learn.”

For Amorim, the message is clear: unleash him, but don’t rush him.

Pulisic “upset” and waiting for a first kick

Christian Pulisic, by contrast, is still waiting just to get started.

Amorim confirmed the USMNT star will finally get his first minutes of the 2026-27 campaign against Lazio, after three games stuck on the bench. Unsurprisingly, the forward has not taken it lightly.

The coach admitted Pulisic is “upset” about his lack of playing time so far. That emotion, in Amorim’s eyes, is not a problem. It’s a tool. A player of that pedigree, frustrated and desperate to prove a point, can change the tone of a season in a single cameo.

Now it is on the coach to find a way to fit him into a side that is still learning its patterns and rhythm.

Ramos under the microscope

When the performance dips, the spotlight narrows. In Turin, it fell on Gonçalo Ramos.

The striker, so sharp against Torino and Venezia, struggled to impose himself against Juventus and came in for criticism. Amorim refused to isolate him.

“I think we need to improve as a team,” he stressed. “Ramos did so well against Torino and Venezia that, in a game where he doesn't have the same performance, you notice it.

“It's more about the understanding of the game from all the players in the team.”

The message: if Milan look blunt, it’s not just about the No.9. It’s about the collective reading of space, timing, and risk – the very things Amorim is trying to drill into a group still adapting to his methods.

“Nothing is random”: Amorim’s defence of his football

The criticism has not just been about individuals. It has gone to the heart of Amorim’s football.

He knows what some fans and pundits are thinking: a coach from abroad, telling Italy how to play its own game. He confronted that perception head-on.

“If you look at our team, we always have an intention; you can't see anything that is random,” he insisted. “Sometimes we want certain patterns that are hard for the players. I understand the pressure. I understand that when you see a guy coming from abroad to say how to play your football, it is really hard, and in the first moment you are just waiting to tell me that in my face.

“I understand, but what I can promise is that the team will always be in first place. I want to dominate games, but then Spalletti, Fabregas, all these guys, they are really good and will push us. We had the ball more than Juventus. Sometimes even when I have the ball, the other guy is better than me, but that doesn't change the intention you have.”

He circled back to a theme: intention and identity over noise.

“What's really important is to be good in the last set pieces of the game because if we win, some guys will have to keep that question in their pocket for one more week.

“The only thing I promise is the club will always be in first place. My intention is always to be better than the opponent in a certain way. I'll try. But then you have the opponents; Spalletti was better than me, and that doesn't change.”

Como’s Champions League statement – but no blueprint for Milan

While Milan wrestle with their evolution, another Italian story has stolen some of the European spotlight. Como, under Cesc Fabregas, were the only Serie A side to win in Champions League Round 1, and did so by dominating RB Leipzig.

The natural question followed: are Fabregas and Como a model for Milan’s long-term project?

Amorim dismissed the idea with a mix of respect and firmness.

“I think we are different managers, with different backgrounds and work for different clubs,” he said. “Mister Cardinale has never told me that [Como] is the inspiration, so you need to tell me, as I didn't know.

“I have my way of playing; I think it will take time. Every manager needs time. You saw against Torino, the friendly against United, that we are improving. But if you want a team that plays like Como, you need to buy Como's manager to play the same way.

“I'm completely different; I have my style of play, my identity. Coaching Milan is really hard; coaching Como and doing what they are doing in the Champions League is so hard, and they are doing so well, but I'm not focusing on how Como are playing; I focus on how Milan must play to win games.”

Pressure, identity and a test in Rome

So the picture is clear. An unbeaten start, but questions about style. A teenage forward on the brink of an Italy call-up, yet still learning how to breathe at San Siro. A marquee winger itching to get on the pitch. A centre-forward under scrutiny. A coach who insists nothing in his team is left to chance.

Amorim has already survived the pressure cooker of Manchester United. Serie A offers a different kind of heat – tactical, emotional, unforgiving – but the principle remains the same: win, and the doubts stay in the pocket for another week.

Lazio away will show whether Milan are ready to turn possession into real authority, and whether Amorim’s ideas can start to bite before the questions grow sharper.