"Ruben better than Max, today, with the aim of being superior also in May."
That is how Tuttosport, the Italian Turin-based newspaper, started today's article about AC Milan, focusing on the Rossoneri head coach.
In mid-November, 24 points against 22, with the hope, however, of having about ten more at the end of the championship. The logical consequence, obviously, is also to have a better position in the league table, because if on 30 May, after the final matchday at San Siro against Udinese, Milan were to find themselves still in fifth place, as at the end of the 2025–26 Serie A season, it would be a problem for Milan, for Gerry Cardinale’s accounts and perhaps also for Ruben Amorim, as it was for Massimiliano Allegri last season.
Today, however, the Portuguese coach can smile, at least as far as the journey within national borders is concerned. Better not to think about the Europa League, in fact; the problem will arise, if anything, on 26 November, when the Rossoneri will fly to Athens and will have to try to obtain three points against Olympiacos to avoid saying goodbye prematurely to the second European competition.
As written, however, it is better to focus during this break on the league, and there Milan, apart from the surprising drop in the second half against Bologna that led the team to go from 2–1 to 2–4, are moving at a good pace. Thanks to the victory in Genoa and Como’s simultaneous defeat, the Devil has entered the Champions League places, sitting alone in fourth place with 24 points, five behind league leaders Lazio and four behind Inter, beaten in the derby.
But beyond the gap from the top, what matters are the points gained over the other possible competitors for qualification for the 2027–28 Champions League, namely Juventus (six behind) and Napoli (nine behind), not to mention Atalanta (ten behind).
Of course, Milan are still a team that must find their definitive identity and limit their wrong approaches, as in Rome against Lazio, or moments of decline, as happened, for example, in the closing stages of matches against Juventus, Sassuolo, Atalanta and Genoa itself on Sunday afternoon.
However, the growth of the Rossoneri, Amorim’s hand, is evident. Above all, there is one Milan with the starters and another without them. And proof of this came precisely in this last week, with one particular lineup seen against Inter and Genoa, and another against Ferencváros.
It is not yet clear whether the real Milan are truly already capable of winning the Scudetto, but they are a team that can only grow, and therefore improve. And in January, with the additions that Cardinale has promised, the level of the second-choice players can only rise as well.
In the meantime, however, Amorim is enjoying his introduction to Italian football. With 24 points, the Portuguese coach has already done better than Allegri in his previous season at Milan after eleven matchdays. Twelve months ago, Max had collected 22 points, but he was in third place, two behind the pair formed by Inter and Roma.
As we know, however, Allegri collapsed in the spring, finishing in fifth place with 70 points. Amorim, with an average of 2.18 points per match, has a projection of 83: last season, that would have been enough to comfortably finish in second place.
Only Stefano Pioli in the recent era has started better than him, on three occasions: 27 points in 2020–21, 31 in 2021–22, when the Scudetto then arrived with 86, and 26 in 2022–23.
Allegri won the derby on the twelfth matchday, taking his total to 25 points. Amorim will resume on Sunday the 22nd at 3:00 PM CET. at San Siro against the surprise package Frosinone, currently sixth with 20 points, and the question after the last two roller-coaster weeks can only be one: which Milan will we see?
