Ruben Amorim wins AC Milan debut with 2-1 Serie A victory at Torino

Opening fixture in Turin

Ruben Amorim opened his tenure as AC Milan head coach on Sunday night with a 2-1 away victory over Torino at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. The match served as the opening fixture of the 2026-27 Serie A season, arriving eight months after Amorim was dismissed from Manchester United. Milan faced a Torino side managed by former Rossoneri defender Ignazio Abate. Portuguese forward Goncalo Ramos was included in the starting lineup for his competitive debut under Amorim, spearheading an attack tasked with improving upon the club's fifth-place finish from the previous domestic campaign.

First-half defensive battle

The visitors began the match on the front foot, pressing high up the pitch, but Torino maintained a disciplined defensive block throughout the opening forty-five minutes. The clearest scoring opportunity of the first half occurred around the 30th minute when Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze dribbled past defender Pietro Comuzzo inside the penalty area. Chukwueze fired a shot toward the target, but Torino goalkeeper Diego Mascardi produced a diving save to deny him. Just before the interval, Alphadjo Cisse attempted to pass to Ruben Loftus-Cheek in a dangerous attacking position, but Torino midfielder Kian Fitz-Jim recovered with a sliding tackle to clear the ball, sending the match into half-time at 0-0.

Second-half impact from Rabiot and Cisse

The balance of the contest changed after half-time following substitutions made by Amorim, notably the introduction of French midfielder Adrien Rabiot. In the 64th minute, Rabiot delivered a cross into the penalty area toward Alphadjo Cisse. The 19-year-old Italian midfielder, wearing shirt number 19, placed his shot past Mascardi to score the first official goal of the Amorim era at Milan. Rabiot later added a goal of his own to double the advantage, before Torino scored a late goal to bring the final scoreline to 1-2 in favour of the Rossoneri.

Pre-season adjustments at Milanello

The opening-day victory followed several weeks of changes to squad management and daily routines under Amorim. Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport labelled his pre-season approach a soft revolution, noting that the Portuguese coach reduced training to a single session per day. This schedule change allowed squad members to leave the Milanello sports centre in the afternoons and spend their evenings at home with their families. Amorim also established a personal habit of greeting every player individually before training sessions, and adopted formal suits on the touchline to match Milan's reputation as a fashion capital, setting aside the casual clothing and tracksuits he used at Sporting CP and Manchester United.

Pre-match status of Rafael Leao

Pre-match attention also focused on squad availability, specifically the absence of winger Rafael Leao, who was not included in the travelling squad for the trip to Turin. Amorim addressed reporters during his pre-match press conference, briefly using Italian phrases before continuing in English to clarify that Leao was not physically ready to compete but remains part of the club.

He is not ready to play, but he is our player. Everyone else is ready. I have no news about players leaving. The important thing is to win tomorrow. Leão will not be present tomorrow, we will see in the future.

Milan took all three points from the away match and will continue their domestic campaign in round two next weekend.