AC Milan head coach Ruben Amorim hit back at the assessment from within the Sky studios that this was his side’s most complete performance.

It wasn’t entirely a stroll in the park for Milan, though the 4-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg on Thursday night was probably as comfortable a win that they could have hoped for, especially against a side that were unbeaten in 15 games this season prior to this one.

The star of the show was without a doubt Alphadjo Cisse, who scored a hat-trick within 50 minutes. The first was a header, then he would score with both feet to complete a perfect trio, while Goncalo Ramos added a fourth off the bench to complete the rout, before Filippo Terracciano’s late red.

Amorim’s post-match thoughts

Amorim was interviewed by Sky after the final whistle at the Red Bull Arena and he reflected on what was his team’s most dominant win, at least in terms of the scoreline. His words are via MilanNews.

What did you think of the game?

“In other games we’ve had more control, but today we managed to score. I think we’ve played better games overall, but then you only look at the result. But obviously I’m happy with the win.”

What did Cisse show you?

“For me, he deserves the space he’s getting for what he’s doing physically: he can be explosive. He still has some work to do to improve, he also needs to improve in training.

“However, tonight, big congratulations to him, his hat trick was extraordinary. But, at the same time, he needs to keep working.”

Why don’t we always see this version of Milan?

“I don’t agree. I think we’ve played better as a team in other games. Tonight we played well, but in some situations, if they had been more precise, they would have scored against us.

“We lost a few balls in front of our own penalty area, we had some problems building up play: we need to work.”

You played several players who had only a few minutes…

“I believe in them. I couldn’t field the same eleven for the next few games. Obviously, there are risks: if we had lost tonight, I know what people would have said. I try to do the best for the team, I try to do things the right way: tonight went well.”

Will the level of training be raised with competition?

“I agree. The most important thing for a team is that everyone understands and believes they can play, and that everyone, at the same time, is aware that they could lose their place in the team. That’s why I need 22 competitive players.

“With matches like these, the players believe in themselves more, and their confidence increases. For the young players, for Loftus-Cheek, he was very aggressive today when not in possession, and we’re working on that. This match will help a lot of people.”

What do you think of Camarda?

“Camarda reads games well. He needs to improve his explosiveness, pace, and rhythm. We’re working on it. He has the ability to run for the full 90 minutes. We’re working on it. That’s something he lacked again tonight, also because he knows how to move in the box, he knows a lot.”