Ruben Amorim claimed his first Serie A win as Milan boss with a 2-1 victory at Torino, and while he liked what he saw for much of the game, he conceded his players faded in the closing stages.
The breakthrough was slow to come at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, with Milan needing over an hour to force the game open before striking twice in quick succession. Alphadjo Cisse marked his first full start with a fine turn and finish, and Adrien Rabiot added the second with a close-range volley.
Speaking to Sky after the final whistle, Amorim was satisfied with the control his side showed but honest about how the performance dropped off. "I'm very happy. We played one game for 75 minutes and then a different one towards the end. We did well to control the game, but we were tired at the end. Maybe I should have managed the substitutions better. Still, we played a good game," he told Sky, in comments relayed by MilanNews.
The night belonged to Cisse, and Amorim went out of his way to talk up the young striker after his debut goal. "I like all my players. I liked some of the details I saw about Cissé. He's smart, he's always very attentive, and he's even losing weight after being sidelined for a few months," he said. "I'm very happy for him, and not just for him. In the first half, he almost showed that he's our most experienced player."
With Fabio Capello present for the broadcast, Amorim also nodded to Milan's history. "I was a big fan of Fabio Capello's AC Milan. At first there was a bit of skepticism after Sacchi, but then Capello won everything and made history."
The defensive picture was where Amorim spent most time diagnosing the areas he wants tightened. "We're trying to defend higher up the pitch. Sometimes we lose our man in the box, and we also need to do better with set pieces," he explained. "We were tired towards the end. There were a lot of opponents in the box, and we took risks, but we know we need to improve in many areas."
The clean sheet flatters a finish Amorim clearly did not enjoy, and the fatigue he pointed to twice suggests fitness under his methods is still a work in progress. For now, though, the first three points in Serie A are on the board, and the next test will show whether the control lasts a full 90.