Ruben Amorim, the Rossoneri head coach, spoke to DAZN after Milan's 3-0 victory over Lecce.
Are you satisfied with the performance?
"We improved a lot. I think the players' freedom, their movement and, above all, the runs from deep made the difference. We were not just a team that controlled possession, but also a team that was dangerous when we had space to run into, and that was a key factor tonight. We controlled the game, knowing that the opposition were waiting for us to make a mistake, and we managed it very well. We defended solidly and, overall, it was a good win."
A step forward in terms of the result, but also the performance. And before you, only Liedholm had done better among foreign coaches in terms of points after five matches...
"That's an interesting statistic, but this is a different moment, a new era. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are playing better and improving. The most important thing, though, is that we are learning. In our last few games, we had some difficulties because our structure was really too rigid in terms of positioning, whereas today the players had a little more freedom and, with a little more freedom, they play better."
How much of a gap is there between Milan and Inter and Roma?
"I think there is a gap. If you look at the way we play and at the opponents, and if you are talking about Roma and Inter, I think they have had more time together as a team. You can see that their mechanisms are there and are clearer than ours, but we haven't dropped that many points. We left two points against Lazio and at Torino against Juventus, so it's not all bad. Sometimes it feels that way, especially after the last results, but we need to balance things out. Today we won, knowing that we faced a good team that is doing well. Every opponent is different and sometimes we will have difficulties in certain games: that's part of the process. I think we should have more points because, if you look at how the matches have gone, against Juventus, even though we didn't play particularly well, we were 30 seconds away from taking another two points home. Against Lazio, considering the two halves, we deserved something more."
Amorim, how will you manage Luka Modric?
"He is a player who needs to have a lot of touches to give us the best of himself, but he is ready to play every game in which we need him. Physical size doesn't matter that much. In some games, such as the first half against Lazio, if we turn the match into a constant back-and-forth of transitions, it is not a good context for Luka, just as it isn't for Jashari. We simply have to play in a way that allows our players' qualities to shine. When we face this type of game, against low blocks, we can make a lot of use of Modric. For the others, we will see, but I think he is ready to play any type of game. He is ready to play every match."
How will you manage your team selection?
"I think it's a matter of observing the games and the characteristics of the individual players. Of course, I listen to the players, but for a coach, especially at a big club, it is impossible to make decisions just by listening to them. You watch them, you try to understand them, but every player tends to push the game towards their own characteristics, and if you do that, it becomes difficult to build an identity. So the final decision is always mine."
"What I have noticed in the last few games, and something I had already experienced in the same way at Manchester United, which is why I cannot make the same mistake again, is that sometimes we don't have the ideal characteristics to play in a certain way. If we don't have them, we need to adapt to some extent. I think it worked today, while in another game we may go back to building with three at the back."
Amorim added:
"The key thing is to have different ways of playing, especially in Italy, because the coaches here are really intelligent. They are excellent at man-marking and, when they lose some of their reference points regarding what we want to do, it becomes more difficult for them. In the same way, it can sometimes be difficult for me to decipher the movement of other teams."
