Like coaches far more experienced than him, Ruben Amorim is a newcomer who has yet to experience the bitter taste of defeat in the league. Unbeaten like Chivu, Gasperini and Gattuso, colleagues with considerably more experience. Conceding an equaliser after taking the lead, without having the killer instinct to kill off the game, and also inexplicably losing their bearings when defending a corner, are the reasons why Amorim would gladly trade the zero in the Serie A defeats column for a few more points in the standings.
The coach also has his own reasoning: the league position is not bad, but in the eyes of the man leading the team, today's Milan are better than they were in the opening weeks, more dynamic than in their debut in Turin (when the fans immediately started talking about "Amorim-ball"), and more attentive than the side that won at home against Venezia, despite having kept a clean sheet on that occasion. Yesterday's team were able to handle one-on-one situations against Laurienté and Berardi, who are deadly on the counterattack. In conclusion, the draw feels like a defeat, but the team's play is improving, even if there is still a great deal of work to be done.
Milan owner Gerry Cardinale was disappointed...
Cardinale's feelings are also mixed: the owner had described the Milan side that beat Lecce before the international break as the best and most clinical of his tenure. Yesterday's performance was once again something unfinished, leaving him rather disappointed as he departed for America. He will return for the match against Atalanta, when he hopes to see improvements that the break failed to bring. Cardinale, too, recognises that there is work to be done, without any excuses, including those relating to certain refereeing decisions. Yesterday, the Rossoneri's number one believed that Laurienté's foul on Gila deserved punishment, yet the Sassuolo forward was not even booked. The same applies to other questionable incidents, writes 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' in this morning's print edition.
Work
The coach analyses the match: "Once we had taken the lead, we should have 'killed off' the game. We need to manage possession and the tempo of the game better. We can concede a corner, but not that goal. It's true that sometimes we lose intensity. Being unbeaten means nothing to me. I feel like we've lost here, like we've thrown away two points. However, compared to the beginning, we've improved. We understand the different phases of matches better, and there's more rotation. As for Ramos and Pulisic, they need the other players to make movements opposite to theirs, making runs in behind."
These are all aspects the coach will have to work on quickly ahead of the upcoming European away trip to Salzburg. It is a match they will have to face without the injured Gabbia and Saelemaekers, while also managing Modric's workload as usual. Yesterday, Luka came on after spending the first 45 minutes resting on the bench: "He gave us a lot in possession, but we struggled a little in transition."
Speaking of adjustments, Modric had come on in place of Estupinan, with Moreira covering the entire left flank: "We're working on our build-up play, and it shows. We need to improve our combinations in the final third. I repeat: despite the difficulties, our objective is always to be dominant. And to 'kill off' games."
