Amorim Admits After Bologna Defeat: "We Were Tired From the First Minute"

AC Milan head coach Ruben Amorim admitted his side "looked tired from the first minute" following their 4-2 defeat to Bologna, but stressed that he did not see fatigue as an excuse.

Injury-hit Milan were beaten at San Siro in a match that belonged to Samuel Mbangula. Milan responded to Mbangula's early goal with a brace from Alphadjo Cisse to take the lead in the first half, but they were unable to sustain that momentum and Bologna fought back after the break.

Mbangula scored either side of a Davide Bartesaghi own goal to complete his hat-trick and hand Milan their first Serie A defeat of the season.

"There are too many games and many of our players are injured. It was difficult for us," Amorim said after the match. "From the first minute I felt the team was a bit tired and lacking energy. We conceded two goals in quick succession; we tried to recover and we also had a clear chance with Camarda. But this intense schedule has worn us down."

The Portuguese coach continued: "It's not just about the injuries, and I'm not saying we lost because of the injuries. I'm saying we ran out of energy because we couldn't rotate as much as we needed to. Pressing constantly is hard for us; when we stop playing our own game, we struggle. A new coach cannot make a team play completely different football in a few months, and everyone needs to understand that. Sometimes we get very tired, but that's not an excuse. Still, there's no need to worry. We have to be ready for Saturday's derby against Inter; I'm simply laying out the reality as it stands."

The victory was only Bologna's fourth away win against Milan in Serie A in the last 60 years, following January 2005 (1-0), August 2008 (2-1) and January 2016 (1-0).

Milan, meanwhile, have suffered 5 home league defeats in a calendar year for only the fifth time in the last 50 years. The Rossoneri previously found themselves in a similar situation in 1997 (five), 2012 (six), 2017 (seven) and 2021 (seven).

Mbangula, the star of the night, made history as the first player to score a Serie A hat-trick away at Milan since legendary striker Gabriel Batistuta netted three times at San Siro for Fiorentina in September 1998, and only the second ever to do so.