Milan beats Man Utd 4-2: The value of the 'blockbuster'

Milan's pre-season training camp concluded with an emphatic 4-2 victory over Man Utd, the former club of coach Ruben Amorim. Notably, the standout player was Goncalo Ramos, the "blockbuster" striker that Milan recently splashed out on with great expectations.

On the Tarczynski pitch in Wroclaw (Poland), Ramos shone with 1 goal and 2 assists, but more importantly, the Portuguese striker looked completely at ease in the 3-4-3 formation and the style of play that coach Amorim is said to have tailored specifically for him.

Star's mark

In the past few days, the main news about Milan has been the rapidly advancing sale of Santiago Gimenez to FC Porto. The Mexican striker has agreed personal terms and is only waiting for the two clubs to agree on a transfer fee before leaving Milan, ending a disappointing 18 months. The arrival of Ramos for a fee of €74 million (excluding bonuses) and with huge expectations has extinguished Gimenez's chances, and the performance of the new signing from PSG clearly showed the difference.

This was Ramos's third appearance for Milan, but his first start. Compared to the previous two matches where he came on in the second half and struggled to find his rhythm, being in the starting lineup from the beginning helped Milan's attack take shape early. Milan still had a shaky start as usual, conceding in the 2nd minute, but then took control. The 3-4-3 formation operated smoothly, forcing Amorim's former players to defend for most of the match. In the 37th minute, Ramos combined with Ardon Jashari to enter the box and set up Samuel Chukwueze's equalizer. In the 68th minute, he scored directly from Chukwueze's cross, and just three minutes later, he passed to Ruben Loftus-Cheek to seal the 4-2 victory.

The attacking efficiency was excellent, but even more positive was that Ramos played in sync with his new teammates, quickly adapting to the system and the high-tempo passing style that Amorim has created. In the goal that made it 3-2, which went viral because Milan completed 45 consecutive passes before Ramos headed the ball into the net, the striker himself contributed 3 passes, including 2 one-touch passes and 1 pre-assist. Getting deeply involved in the play, effective in both build-up and finishing, was exactly what Milan's recent coaches expected from Gimenez, but the Mexican marksman failed to deliver.

"Amorim ball" makes an impression

Man Utd players are probably the ones who understand Ruben Amorim's philosophy, formation, and style best, but when facing their former coach, they were completely helpless. In the build-up to Ramos's goal that went viral on social media, Milan kept possession for 2 minutes and 20 seconds, completing 45 passes while the Man Utd players just chased aimlessly. Over the whole match, Milan made 573 passes with a 91% accuracy rate, far higher than Man Utd's 363 and 83%, and created an expected goals (xG) of 3.21, nearly double Man Utd's 1.78. The 4-2 scoreline accurately reflected the difference in form and efficiency between the two teams.

This was certainly Milan's best match since Amorim arrived, as the football now called "Amorim ball" was displayed almost flawlessly. Milan conceded two goals: one came from the chaotic opening moments, and the other from a personal error by Filippo Terracciano. The triangle of center-backs Strahinja Pavlovic and Koni De Winter along with box-to-box midfielder Ardon Jashari touched the ball a combined 258 times, affirming the philosophy of building from the back and controlling possession that Amorim aims for, a stark contrast to the passive style under Max Allegri. This tiki-taka-style play created plenty of space for wingers Chukwueze and Alphadjo Cisse to exploit, with Chukwueze having an excellent game (1 goal, 2 assists) and Cisse also scoring from a chance created by the Nigerian.

Although only a friendly, this 4-2 victory shows that Milan have improved significantly compared to the 0-3 defeat to Chelsea a week ago and are much more confident ahead of the official start of the season against Torino on August 23. When the key players return, the transfer business is completed, and Ramos reaches peak fitness, it can be expected that "Amorim ball" will impress even more and create a more promising future for Milan.