A Brutal Squad Purge and Opening Night Gambling
August 23, 2026 marks a ruthless turning point for AC Milan. Head coach Ruben Amorim's first Serie A match in charge isn't just a tactical debut. It is an aggressive operational line drawn across the squad by owner Gerry Cardinale.
Rafael Leao missed the trip to Turin with muscle discomfort, but the underlying story is far more definitive. Milan directors are actively negotiating Leao's permanent exit before the transfer window closes on August 31, signaling a complete collapse of his long-standing role as the team's centerpiece.
He isn't alone in the cold. Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana, Santiago Gimenez, and Christopher Nkunku were all transfer-listed and left off the squad entirely. They were banished from the team bus as Milan strip down wage bills to fund Amorim's structural rebuild.
Dumping high-earning stars on opening night is a massive gamble. Title rivals Inter and Napoli both secured opening-weekend victories on Saturday, leaving zero margin for error at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.
Media speculation beforehand pointed to a conventional setup. As La Gazzetta dello Sport's predicted lineup reports suggested, veterans like Luka Modric and Matteo Gabbia were tipped to anchor the side. Instead, Amorim shocked traveling supporters by starting Koni De Winter and Ardon Jashari in his official XI.
Gabbia's benching stems partly from fitness. The Italian defender shook off a minor injury just in time for matchday, but missed key training sessions during the final week of preseason.
Tactical Square Pegs and Wing-Back Experiments
Amorim's signature 3-4-2-1 formation creates immediate tactical friction with the roster he inherited. Converting winger Samuel Chukwueze into a right wing-back remains the headline experiment. He showed attacking threat during preseason wins over Manchester United, but playing him out of position feels like forcing a round peg into a square hole.
Pervis Estupiñan occupies the left flank, where supporters remain anxious over his erratic defensive positioning. Davide Bartesaghi paid the price for a disastrous second half of 2026, where several defensive blunders cost Milan critical points. Estupiñan gets the nod while new Portuguese signing Diego Moreira builds match fitness on the bench.
The central midfield selection raised plenty of eyebrows in fan forums. Partnering Yunus Musah with Ardon Jashari leaves Milan without an established deep playmaker in the initial phase. Musah offers physical driving runs out of defense, but his high turnover rate routinely exposes his backline to counter-attacks.
Amorim defended leaving 40-year-old Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot on the bench before kickoff, explaining his decision to Sky Italia:
"We need to understand that the game isn’t just about who starts. Musah is doing well, but Modric doesn’t have 90 minutes in his legs. His experience will be useful later in the game"
Behind club-record signing Gonçalo Ramos, 19-year-old Alphadjo Cissè earned his first senior start alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek. With Christian Pulisic only healthy enough for the bench after recovering from injury, Cissè gets a trial by fire in Turin.
Amorim retains plenty of potential firepower among his substitutes. The bench includes teenagers Francesco Camarda and Christian Comotto alongside Alexis Saelemaekers, giving Milan dynamic tactical options if the starting midfield struggles.
The High-Stakes Duel against Ignazio Abate's Granata
Ignazio Abate faces his former club in his Serie A managerial debut. The former Rossoneri fullback and Primavera coach has built a resilient Torino side at the Stadio Olimpico.
Torino enter the match unbeaten in six straight home games dating back to Roberto D'Aversa's tenure late last season. They scored 14 goals across that stretch, collecting 14 points to transform their home stadium into a fortress.
Giovanni Simeone leads the Granata attack after completing a permanent transfer earlier this summer. Simeone scored 11 goals in Serie A last season. He joined Enrico Chiesa and Alberto Gilardino as the only players in top-flight history to hit double figures for five different clubs, having previously done so for Genoa, Fiorentina, Cagliari, and Hellas Verona.
On the right wing, 19-year-old Alessio Cacciamani starts for Torino after an outstanding Serie B loan spell. Cacciamani matches up directly against Chukwueze, testing Milan's makeshift wing-back immediately. As SempreMilan highlighted in their key tactical battles preview, Milan scouts are tracking Cacciamani closely for late August movement.
Torino's three-man defense features 26-year-old Saul Coco and 20-year-old Pietro Comuzzo, who joined on loan from Fiorentina. Comuzzo was linked with a €40m+ move last summer before a dip in form, and his duel against Gonçalo Ramos will anchor the match.
Ramos carries immense expectations as Milan's record signing. At PSG, Ramos tallied 45 goals across three seasons, averaging one goal every 120 minutes—the best rate among Ligue 1 players with 50-plus appearances. His off-ball pressing and link-up play offer a complete profile that Abate's defense must monitor constantly.
The match also features a compelling midfield battle between Croatian international Nikola Vlasic and Modric. Vlasic scored eight Serie A goals last season and will look to disrupt Milan's build-up patterns whenever Modric enters the pitch.
Historical Baggage and Defensive Fragility
History offers little comfort for Milan in Turin. The Rossoneri failed to win in 11 of their past 13 visits to the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, suffering five defeats and six draws.
Torino's opening-day history against Milanese clubs is surprisingly sparse, however. The Granata have won only one of nine Serie A openers against Inter or Milan—a 2-1 victory over the Rossoneri back on September 17, 1939 at the historic Filadelfia stadium thanks to goals from Libero Marchini and Walter Petron.
Recent encounters between these sides have been chaotic goalfests. The last six meetings produced 26 goals, averaging 4.3 goals per game. Last December, Milan barely escaped Turin with a 3-2 victory after trailing 2-0, saved only by individual brilliance from Rabiot and Pulisic.
The statistical backdrop highlights severe domestic vulnerability. As detailed in the match statistical breakdown, Milan lost seven of their final 13 Serie A games last season after going 24 matches unbeaten. Only Pisa, Hellas Verona, and Cremonese suffered more defeats during that closing collapse.
Furthermore, Milan relied heavily on spot-kicks, converting seven of nine penalties last term. Torino, by contrast, were the only Serie A team last season that did not concede a single goal from a direct or indirect free kick.
Amorim's possession demands require total concentration from his center-backs Mario Gila, De Winter, and Strahinja Pavlovic. Speaking to DAZN ahead of kickoff, a Milan defender outlined the new tactical directive:
"I’ve spoken a lot with him. He wants a defender who plays with the ball and a team that keeps possession for 90 minutes. We have to keep possession if we want to win"
Counterarguments, Skepticism, and the Verdict on Amorim's Vision
Purging senior players can refresh a dressing room, but discarding established scorers like Nkunku while pushing Leao out creates massive short-term risk. Relying on unproven teenagers like Cissè while shifting Chukwueze into defense leaves Milan defensively exposed.
If Chukwueze gets caught high upfield against direct runners like Cacciamani, De Winter and Gila lack the recovery speed to cover wide channels. Gabbia's absence from the starting lineup deprives Milan of their most vocal defensive organizer when dealing with Simeone's aerial threat.
Starting Musah over Modric also risks unforced errors in deep areas. Musah's physical attributes are clear, but his reckless ball distribution frequently triggers counter-attacks. Expecting Amorim to fix those technical flaws overnight is wishful thinking.
However, if Ramos provides clinical finishing and Amorim's pressing structure takes root, Milan can become terrifying in transition. Ramos offers relentless off-ball work that previous Milan strikers lacked, opening space for Loftus-Cheek and Cissè to crash the box.
Amorim can become the first foreign Milan head coach to win his Serie A debut since Leonardo in August 2009. But this opening night in Turin will reveal whether Cardinale's radical overhaul is visionary or reckless.
