There was no great escape for Milan this time.Just days after their dramatic Serie A comeback against Lazio, Ruben Amorim's side found themselves staring into defeat again – only this time, Benfica made sure they stayed there.The Rossoneri produced an alarmingly poor display at San Siro, falling to a 2-0 defeat in their Europa League opener and offering little to suggest they ever had a way back into the game.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">🦅 Dodi Lukébakio's finish 😮💨<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/UEL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UEL</a> <a href="https://t.co/sroZZmkwYO">pic.twitter.com/sroZZmkwYO</a></p>— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) <a href="https://x.com/EuropaLeague/status/2100305601674805523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##Benfica, by contrast, were sharper, more direct and far more comfortable with the way the match developed.They struck first in the 16th minute through Lukebakio. He collected the ball on the right, cut inside and curled a superb finish into the far corner, leaving Mike Maignan with no chance, 0-1.From there, Benfica were happy to retreat into a compact mid-block and wait for Milan to find solutions, which they rarely did.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">D.Lukebakio scored the first Goal in just 16 minutes to give benefit the lead over A.C Milan… <br>What a Goal 🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/P7RCrCbHRI">pic.twitter.com/P7RCrCbHRI</a></p>— Jiggy Tv (@nji168433) <a href="https://x.com/nji168433/status/2100306741820879180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##The visitors even came close to doubling their advantage when Georgiy Sudakov hit the post from a similar position. His teammate, Jakub Kaminski, was more precise and made it 2-0 early in the second half.Milan threw bodies forward during the final half-hour, but their attacking play descended into little more than chaos. Christian Pulisic tested Anatoliy Trubin twice, yet the Benfica keeper remained composed whenever called upon.There were no real bright spots in an otherwise grey night for Amorim.##LINKED_NEWS_69047##Perhaps the most disappointing figure was Goncalo Ramos, facing the club he once called home. The Portuguese striker was so ineffective that it often felt as though Milan were playing with ten men – quite an indictment for the most expensive signing in the club's history.The defeat also adds another worrying statistic to Milan's recent home form. This was their fourth loss at San Siro in their last six home matches since April, and they have conceded at least twice in each of those defeats.UEFA Europa LeagueRound 1WednesdayArarat – Sparta Prague 1-4 (0-2)/Wilson 55 – Guddal 20, 22, Mercado 53, Vydra 71/Omonia – Celta 1-0 (0-0)/Balkovec 88/Anderlecht – Olympique Lyon 1-2 (0-2)/Cvetkovic 61 – Nartey 8, Nakamura 22/Hapoel B.S. – Dinamo Zagreb 0-0Leverkusen – Celje 2-0 (1-0)/Seslar 15 og, Medina 74/Milan – Benfica 0-2 (0-1)/Lukebakio 16, Kaminski 53/Olympiakos – Jagiellonia 2-1 (1-1)/Gonzales 43, Yaremchuk 84 – Szmyt 20/Sturm – Rennes 0-0Sunderland – AZ Alkmaar 1-0 (0-0)/Le Fee 66 pen/Thursday19.45: (2.95) Levski Sofia (3.50) Salzburg (2.35)19.45: (8.50) OFI (4.80) Hoffenheim (1.38)22.00: (1.77) Besiktas (3.60) Olympique Marseille (4.80)22.00: (1.72) Celtic (3.70) Ferencvaros (5.00)22.00: (1.40) Crystal Palace (4.70) Lech Poznan (8.00)22.00: (1.23) Juventus (6.50) NEC (12.0)22.00: (1.53) Lillestrom (3.90) Torreense (5.80)22.00: (2.75) Plzen (3.35) St.Gilloise (2.55)22.00: (3.10) Sociedad (3.40) Bournemouth (2.30)***odds are subject to change***##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-138315-96522" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/138315/season/96522/standings?widgetTitle=UEFA+Europa+League&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:1763px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##