Milan's threadbare defence collapses again as Ferencvaros stay perfect
A Lenny Joseph brace sent Ruben Amorim's injury-hit side to a third defeat in four Europa League games, with Ferencvaros now unbeaten from four.
Milan's Europa League campaign is unravelling fast. A 2-0 home defeat to Ferencvaros, secured by two goals from Lenny Joseph, leaves Ruben Amorim's side with three losses from four matches in the league phase, according to Football Italia. The result came just days after a 3-1 derby win over Inter had restored some confidence at San Siro, but Amorim's depleted squad had no answer to the Hungarian leaders.
The scale of Milan's absentee list explains much of what went wrong. Mike Maignan, sent off in a 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth, was suspended, handing third-choice goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani his chance.
Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Samuel Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Alexis Saelemaekers and Pietro Terracciano were all injured, while Strahinja Pavlovic was rested having played almost every minute of the season. Ferencvaros were missing players too — Krisztian Lisztes, Franko Kovacevic and Daniel Radnoti were out, with four more ineligible — but arrived with a perfect record after beating Celtic, Viktoria Plzen and Torreense.
A sluggish first half invited pressure
Ferencvaros were the better side from the start, with Kristoffer Zachariassen testing Torriani with an angled drive. Milan were nearly punished immediately when Ardon Jashari's misplaced back-pass sent Joseph through one-on-one, though the striker scuffed his finish.
Milan's own first opportunity did not arrive until the 39th minute, Alphadjo Cisse failing to keep a half-volley down from a Goncalo Ramos knockdown. Joseph had further chances before the break, testing Torriani from the near post and again from ten yards out, in what Football Italia described as a very sluggish first-half performance from the hosts.
Amorim's response was decisive in substance if not in outcome. He made a triple change at the interval, bringing on Christian Pulisic, Diego Moreira and Mario Gila, and the switch brought an immediate lift. Omari Hutchinson struck the side-netting from a tight angle and Ramos saw an effort deflected wide, suggesting Milan had found a measure of control they lacked before the break.
Transitions punished a defence short of cover
That improvement did not survive contact with Ferencvaros in transition. Torriani's heavy touch let Zachariassen in, and after a possible foul on the loose ball went unpunished, Joseph turned it into an empty net to open the scoring. Football Italia noted that Milan's defending remained sluggish throughout, with nobody warning the goalkeeper of the danger building behind him — a recurring pattern given how many senior defensive options were unavailable.
The pattern repeated for the second goal. As Milan pushed numbers forward in search of an equaliser, gaps opened at the back and Ferencvaros broke with pace. Zachariassen sprinted from his own half, drew Torriani out and squared for Joseph to complete his brace with a simple tap-in. Hutchinson had already gone close with a drive that shaved the far post, and Moreira had caused problems with cross-shots and a curling effort over the bar, but Milan's attacking intent kept exposing the space in behind.
Francesco Camarda came on and turned wide of the near post from a Moreira cutback, one of the last clear openings of the night. Zachariassen remained a constant threat at the other end, forcing a sharp one-handed save from Torriani and setting up a header from Gomez that drifted inches over. Ferencvaros were reduced to ten men late on when Bamidele Yusuf was sent off for raising an elbow at Gila in an off-the-ball incident flagged by VAR, but by then the damage was already done.
The result keeps Ferencvaros unbeaten after four Europa League matches, a record the Guardian notes puts them in position to chase direct passage to the last 16 alongside Bournemouth, who also moved to four wins from four with a 3-1 victory at Sparta Prague on the same night. For Milan, the defeat leaves their own progress in serious doubt, with the extent of Amorim's injury list offering an explanation rather than an excuse for a night when the away side's finishing in transition proved decisive twice over.