Europa League – AC Milan suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 0-2 at home to Benfica.

The first round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League season kicked off, with AC Milan hosting Benfica at the San Siro. They ultimately lost 0-2, suffering their first defeat under Ruben Amorim's management.

After the start of the first half, Benfica, who had traveled a long way, quickly found their rhythm. In the 15th minute, Daniel Banjaki broke through midfield and delivered a precise through ball, but Dodi Lukebakio's curling shot from the right wing was easily saved by Mike Maignan. In the 16th minute, Jacob Kaminski broke through on the left and passed the ball to Lukebakio, who cut inside from the right and fired a long-range shot to open the scoring for Benfica. In the 24th minute, an AC Milan defensive error created a shooting opportunity for Hershey Sudakov, whose shot from the edge of the box struck the left post.

After that, trailing by one goal, Milan gradually launched a counter-attack against Benfica. In the 27th minute, Yunus Musa passed the ball to the right wing, and Filippo Terracciano unleashed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, which was brilliantly saved by Anatoli Trubin. In the 36th minute, Davide Bartesagi's cross from the left wing was quite threatening, but Gonzalo Ramos was a step too slow to get a shot off. In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Bartesagi made a low cross from the left wing and passed it back to Alfajo Cisse, who cut inside the penalty area and curled a shot, which was saved by Trubin.

After the break, Benfica took the initiative again: in the 53rd minute, Sofian Caruani delivered a low cross from the left wing, and Kaminski tapped it in from close range. With Kaminski's second goal, Benfica extended their lead to two goals just eight minutes into the second half.

Milan then launched another all-out attack on Benfica, but to no avail. In the 62nd minute, Alex Saelemaekers cut inside to the left side of the penalty area and delivered a cross, where Christian Pulisic's low shot was blocked by Trubin's palms. In the 81st minute, Saelemaekers repeated the tactic, linking up with Pulisic, whose long-range shot was again brilliantly saved by Trubin. In the 82nd minute, Samuel Chucuese crossed from the right, and Gonzalo Ramos' header at the far post went wildly wide.

In the 84th minute, a series of attacks by Benfica caused chaos in the Milan penalty area, but unfortunately, Lukebakio's shot was easily saved by Maignan. Neither side managed to score again, and the final score remained 0-2.

Image source: Internet/Benfica official website