Benfica beats Milan 2-0 at San Siro for first ever win over Rossoneri

Benfica secured a historic 2-0 victory over AC Milan at San Siro in their Europa League opener, marking the Portuguese club's first ever win against the Rossoneri in six official meetings. Dodi Lukebakio opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a curled left-footed finish from the edge of the area, and Jakub Kaminski doubled the lead early in the second half, converting after a saved initial effort.

Milan, under Ruben Amorim, suffered their first defeat of his tenure after back-to-back Serie A draws against Juventus and Lazio. The Rossoneri failed to score in the first half for the fifth time in five matches under Amorim, managing only a Filippo Terracciano long-range effort saved by Anatoliy Trubin and an Ardon Jashari shot over the bar.

“When we have the ball we create more problems for ourselves than when the opponent has it.”

Benfica coach Marco Silva rotated nine starters ahead of Sunday's clash with FC Porto, handing first starts to Alessandro Circati, Souffian El Karouani and a rare 90-minute appearance for Lukebakio. The visitors defended in a compact block and struck on the counter, with Georgiy Sudakov hitting the post at 1-0.

Amorim introduced Christian Pulisic, Alexis Saelemaekers and Adrien Rabiot at halftime, and Milan improved but could not breach Trubin. Saelemaekers admitted the team had "no excuse" and must work harder. Amorim acknowledged a possible mental block in first halves and said his side creates more problems for themselves when in possession.

The result ends a sequence of four Milan wins and two draws in previous encounters, including the 1963 and 1990 European Cup finals. Benfica arrives with seven consecutive victories across competitions and sit top of the Europa League league phase after matchday one.