Adrien Rabiot had been on the pitch for eight minutes when he set up Alphadjo Cissè’s opener, then scored himself two minutes later to put Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan side in full control. Torino pulled one back through Che Adams in stoppage time, but the damage was done. Milan’s 59% possession and 19 shots told the story of a side that dominated the second half and deserved the three points.
Key Moments
- 56′, Double Milan substitution: Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who had picked up a yellow card four minutes earlier for tripping, is replaced by Luka Modrić, while Adrien Rabiot comes on for Ardon Jashari.
- 64′, Milan break the deadlock. Rabiot finds Alphadjo Cissè inside the box and the forward converts to make it 1-0.
- 66′, Milan double their lead almost immediately. Samuel Chukwueze provides the assist and Rabiot finishes to make it 2-0, capping a devastating ten-minute spell from the bench.
- 70′, Torino make a triple substitution, sending on Che Adams, Niccolò Fortini and Alieu Njie in an attempt to find a way back.
- 90′, Adams gives Torino a consolation. Gvidas Gineitis picks out the forward and he finishes to make it 2-1, but there is no time for an equalizer.
Tactical Breakdown
Milan set up in a 3-4-2-1 mirroring Torino’s shape, and Amorim’s side spent much of the match in the ascendancy. They finished with 59% possession, 19 shots, all of them inside the box, and an xG of 1.61 against Torino’s 1.01. The back three of Strahinja Pavlović, Koni De Winter and Mario Gila gave them a solid base, while Samuel Chukwueze and Pervis Estupiñán provided width in midfield. Torino’s goalkeeper Diego Mascardi was asked to make just two saves all evening.
The turning point came with the double change at the hour mark. Loftus-Cheek’s departure after his yellow card was both logical and necessary, but it was Rabiot’s introduction that changed the game entirely. The midfielder went from the bench to two goal involvements in eight minutes, assisting Cissè on 64 and then converting himself on 66 after Chukwueze’s delivery. Ignazio Abate responded with his own triple substitution on 70, but by then Milan were two up and comfortable.
Torino struggled throughout to create anything meaningful, managing just one shot on target across the entire match. Their 3-4-2-1 offered little in attack, with Giovanni Simeone isolated up front and Nikola Vlašić unable to find spaces between the lines. The late consolation from Adams, introduced at 70, at least gave them something to build on, but the hosts were second-best for most of the afternoon.
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Verdict
Milan sit fourth in Serie A after the opening weekend, level on three points with Inter, Napoli and Lecce at the top of the table. Amorim’s side showed they have the squad depth to change a game from the bench, which will matter across a long season. Torino, meanwhile, open their account with a defeat and a single point from the standings to show for their efforts at home.