Ruben Amorim insists he will not be pushed into making the same tactical mistakes he made during his stint with Manchester United, now he is in charge of AC Milan.

Amorim’s unbeaten start in Serie A continued on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win against Lecce at San Siro, with the result moving Milan up to fifth in the standings.

Christian Pulisic’s sensational touch and finish put Milan ahead early on, before Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira sealed the win for the Rossoneri during a dominant second half.

Milan’s victory saw them remain unbeaten in their opening five Serie A matches of a season for the first time since 2022-23

Amorim has become only the third foreign manager in Milan’s history to not taste defeat in each of his first five Serie A games in charge, after Luis Carniglia and Nils Liedholm both in 1963-64.

Speaking after the game, Amorim revealed he allowed his side to play with “freedom”, and when asked about the reasoning behind that decision, he highlighted his turbulent tenure at Old Trafford, where he was reluctant to adapt his style of play.

“It’s an observation of the games and the characteristics,” Amorim told DAZN, as quoted by Football Italia.

“Of course, I listen to the players, but a manager, especially in a big team, is always listening to the players, seeing and understanding them, but every player wants to push the game towards their characteristics, and if you want to have an identity, that is hard.

“It’s always my decision. What I felt in the last games is the same that I felt at Manchester United, and I cannot make the same mistake.

“Sometimes we don’t have the perfect characteristics to play in that way, and if we don’t have them, we have to adapt. I think today worked.

“In another game, we can return to the build-up with three [at the back]. The important thing is to have different ways of playing.

“That’s especially important in Italy, because the managers are really smart, they mark really well one against one, and when they lose the reference to what we want to do, it’s harder for them to understand their mobility, just as they make it harder for me to understand their teams.”

Milan have now won their first two home Serie A matches of a season while keeping a clean sheet in both for the first time since 2020-21, when they beat Bologna 2-0 and Spezia 3-0 under Stefano Pioli.

The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has acknowledged that referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias committed severe officiating errors by failing to send off Atlético Madrid players Cuti Romero and Kang-in Lee during Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat in the Madrid derby.

The admission follows scrutiny from Los Blancos, who published a formal statement describing the officiating at the Metropolitano as “catastrophic.”

According to report, the CTA reviewed the match and determined that Ortiz Arias missed two clear direct red cards in the first half that directly impacted the LALIGA fixture.

In the 35th minute, Romero caught Jude Bellingham’s knee with his studs. Ortiz Arias initially booked Bellingham, but video assistant referee Trujillo Suárez intervened.

Ortiz Arias subsequently rescinded Bellingham’s card and cautioned Romero. The CTA concluded that the challenge warranted a straight red card for serious foul play.

Nine minutes later, Kang-in Lee stepped on Federico Valverde’s left ankle from behind. The CTA ruled that the tackle carried excessive force in a dangerous area and should have resulted in a direct expulsion, noting that the VAR room failed to intervene.

While the CTA admitted faults regarding the Atlético challenges, the committee formally endorsed the decision to send off Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen in the 52nd minute.

Huijsen held back Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area to stop a clear goalscoring opportunity. Ortiz Arias initially awarded a penalty and a yellow card before Trujillo Suárez recommended an on-field review. The referee upgraded the punishment to a red card, a sequence the CTA considers procedurally correct.

Alejandro Grimaldo converted the resulting penalty, and Jonathan David added a second in the 59th minute before Antonio Rüdiger scored a late header to conclude the 2-1 result.

Mourinho slams referee selection

The CTA’s assessment validates the post-match frustrations of Real Madrid manager José Mourinho, who brought a physical poster of the unpunished tackles to his media briefing.

Beyond criticising the specific on-field decisions, the Portuguese manager targeted the CTA’s appointment process directly.

Mourinho argued that assigning Ortiz Arias to the fixture was a failure, stating that the referee lacked the requisite experience to manage the volatility and pressure of a high-stakes Madrid derby.

In a La Liga Matchday 7 fixture, Barcelona defeated Sevilla 3-1 away from home.

Following this match, Barcelona remains firmly at the top of the La Liga standings with a perfect record of seven wins from seven games. In these matches, they have been prolific, scoring an impressive 31 goals.

In the history of La Liga, only one team has scored more goals than Barcelona after the first seven rounds: Sevilla, the same team Barcelona defeated on Saturday, who scored 40 goals in the first seven games of the 1940/41 season.

It is worth noting that in that season, Sevilla defeated Barcelona 11-1 in the opening match of the league.