Alphadjo Cissè scored on his first Serie A start for Milan, helping Ruben Amorim win his opening competitive match as head coach with a 2-1 victory at Torino. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder became Milan’s youngest Italian goalscorer since Patrick Cutrone in 2017.
Cissè’s breakthrough performance
Cissè, who signed from Verona in February but spent last season on loan at Catanzaro in Serie B, scored six goals in 22 games there before a thigh injury ended his campaign early. He had previously played just 14 minutes for Verona in the top flight.
Within 75 seconds of kick-off in Turin, Cissè took the first shot of the game, hooking a Ruben Loftus-Cheek cross into the side netting. He continued to threaten and thought he had won a penalty after the interval when his cross struck the arm of Nikola Vlasic, but the VAR booth did not call referee Luca Zufferli to review the incident.
Amorim’s tactics pay off
Milan dominated the first half, claiming more than 70% of possession and outshooting Torino 11 to one, but struggled to break through until the 64th minute. Yunus Musah surged forward from midfield and fed substitute Adrien Rabiot, whose cross was controlled by Cissè and curled into the far corner.
Rabiot then converted a Samuel Chukwueze delivery to make it 2-0. Torino’s Ché Adams scored a stunning volley in injury time, but Milan held on for the three points.
Youth movement across Serie A
Cissè was one of several Italian teenagers given opportunities on the opening weekend. Torino started 19-year-olds Diego Mascardi and Alessio Cacciamani, while 18-year-olds Matteo Palma and Simone Lontani started for Udinese and Parma respectively. Inter’s 21-year-old Pio Esposito delivered a man-of-the-match performance in their 4-1 win over Monza.
Data from Football Benchmark found that Italians qualifying for the under-21 category accounted for only 3.9% of minutes played last season, while foreign players in that age group took 8.2%.
Big spending and high expectations
Milan appointed Amorim and spent a club-record €74m on Gonçalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain, plus €50m on Diego Moreira from Strasbourg and €30m on Mario Gila from Lazio. Ramos and Gila started against Torino, while Moreira remained on the bench.
Amorim said Milan have “a lot to improve”, acknowledging their early struggles to break down Torino. “The first thing is also win. That is the most important thing. We talk about ways of playing, but there is one goal in calcio. Vincere.”
Cissè, who has represented Italy up to under-21 level, said starting and scoring in the season opener was “beyond a dream”. He added: “It makes me happy. But I didn’t hear the press conference. All my friends told me about it instead.”
