AC Milan beats Torino 2-1 as Cisse and Rabiot score in Ruben Amorim's Serie A debut
Ruben Amorim started his Serie A tenure with a 2-1 victory over Torino at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, with second-half goals from 19-year-old Alphadjo Cisse and substitute Adrien Rabiot deciding the match.
Tactical setup and opening half
Ruben Amorim took charge of his first Serie A fixture as AC Milan manager at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, matching Ignazio Abate's Torino in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Amorim selected 19-year-old Alphadjo Cisse alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek in attacking midfield behind forward Ramos, while giving Koni De Winter the start over Matteo Gabbia in defence. Ahead of kickoff, roughly 1,000 Torino supporters marched from the Filadelfia training ground to the stadium in a protest against club president Urbano Cairo, displaying a banner demanding his departure. Milan applied high pressure from the opening whistle, creating an early opportunity in the second minute when Loftus-Cheek played in Cisse, whose strike hit the side netting from a tight angle. In the sixth minute, travelling Milan supporters commemorated former captain Franco Baresi, who passed away in late July. Torino goalkeeper Mascardi remained alert throughout the first half, notably parrying a low effort from Samuel Chukwueze in the 30th minute to keep the score level at the break.
Two-minute breakthrough
The second half opened with Torino threatening in the 53rd minute, as Fitz-Jim swung a cross to Saul Coco, whose headed knockdown narrowly evaded a sliding Giovanni Simeone. Amorim responded by introducing Adrien Rabiot and Luka Modric from the bench, reshaping Milan's midfield control. Torino escaped a penalty appeal around the hour mark after Nikola Vlasic handled a delivery from Pervis Estupinan, with referee Luca Zufferli awarding only a corner following a review. Shortly after Mario Gila made a sliding block on Simeone, Milan broke the deadlock in the 65th minute. Yunus Musah played the ball out wide to Rabiot, whose diagonal pass found Cisse to control with his thigh and finish inside the far post. Just two minutes later, Chukwueze delivered a cross from the right flank, allowing Rabiot to evade Gvidas Gineitis and steer the ball into the net from close range.
- Cisse hits the side netting from Loftus-Cheek's cross
- Mascardi saves Chukwueze's left-footed shot
- Cisse scores opening goal on assist from Rabiot
- Rabiot doubles Milan's lead from Chukwueze's delivery
- Njie strikes the post for Torino
- Adams scores consolation goal for Torino off Gineitis free kick
Late Torino pressure
Torino pushed forward after conceding twice, relying on substitutes to create chances during the final quarter of the match. In the 74th minute, substitute Alieu Njie bypassed Gila on the wing and struck the outside of the post with a right-footed effort. Pietro Comuzzo missed another opportunity for the hosts when he fired over the crossbar from a Fitz-Jim delivery in the 79th minute. Five minutes later, Njie set up Zakaria Aboukhlal with an outside-of-the-boot pass, but the attacker failed to hit the target against Mike Maignan. Torino pulled a goal back in the 93rd minute when Che Adams executed a volley from Gineitis's free kick into the top corner, though Milan held on for the final moments of stoppage time.
Post-match reflections
Amorim assessed the performance after the final whistle, acknowledging squad fatigue and defensive lapses while praising the composure of Cisse.
We did well and I am very happy, we played a good game: in the end we arrived tired, perhaps I should have managed the substitutions better.
Cisse reflected on his scoring debut in Serie A before looking ahead to the team's next league fixture on Friday.
This is a unique emotion for me, probably not even in a dream would I have imagined making my debut with Milan and scoring: now we are already thinking about Friday, about the next game.
