Milan lost their third pre-season friendly to Chelsea in Jakarta on Saturday, and afterwards Ruben Amorim admitted he expected the difficulty and hinted that cuts to his squad are coming this week.
The result stood out because the first two summer outings, against Celtic and Inter, had offered encouraging signs. This one did not follow the pattern, with Chelsea running out comfortable winners on the Indonesia leg of the tour.
Speaking to Sky after the final whistle, Amorim framed the defeat as part of the process rather than a warning sign. “We knew we’d struggle a bit, but we want to present this kind of challenge to our players. They know how to defend as a team, play one-on-one, and press high,” he said.
He was clear that the approach on the day was not one he intends to repeat once the season begins. “We’ll never press like this against teams like Chelsea, but we’re here to prepare to win the first competitive match of the season and give our players confidence,” he added, pointing to the number of young players in the group and insisting the team is “on the right path.”
Asked whether the match mattered for the calls he now has to make, Amorim did not hedge. “Yes, of course. We’ll make some decisions about our players. These past two weeks have been very positive, but we have a large squad. We need to choose some players, and we’ll make those decisions this week,” he said.
That last line is the one worth holding on to. A large squad and a fixed deadline point to outgoings, and the timing suggests the coach will use the pre-season data to settle who stays before the competitive campaign opens.
From here, the decisions rest with Amorim, and he has set himself a week to make them.