Published November 5, 2026 · Taken Social Editorial
MILAN — Lenny Joseph scored twice in the second half as Ferencváros defeated AC Milan 2–0 at San Siro on Thursday, extending the Hungarian club’s perfect Europa League start and leaving the hosts with another difficult result to absorb.
Milan has now lost three of its opening four league-phase matches. With three points at the halfway stage, the Italian club has considerable ground to recover over the remaining four games. Ferencváros moved to 12 points, turning an away assignment against one of the competition’s most recognizable names into another important step toward the knockout rounds.
The official Milan match record lists Joseph’s goals in the 52nd and 66th minutes. The visitors later had substitute Bamidele Yusuf sent off, but Milan could not turn its numerical advantage into a comeback.
The result was particularly damaging because it came at home, where Milan had an opportunity to repair an inconsistent European campaign. Instead, Ferencváros left with a clean sheet and the hosts finished the evening still searching for the combination of control and attacking execution needed to change their position.
Joseph decides the game after the interval
The match was goalless at halftime. Joseph’s first strike changed that balance soon after the restart, and his second gave Ferencváros the cushion it needed. Pianeta Milan’s account described a costly error by goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani in the opening goal and a second finish that increased the home side’s difficulties.
Milan coach Rúben Amorim had selected a rotated side. The official team sheet records the use of Christian Pulisic, Mario Gila and Diego Moreira from halftime, followed by Luka Modrić in the second half. The changes did not prevent the two goals that decided the match.
For an American audience, Pulisic’s appearance was one of the more familiar elements in a much broader team setback. The score cannot be explained by the presence or absence of one player alone. Milan’s problem on the night was that its revised lineup and later substitutions did not produce a route back once Joseph had established the lead.
Yusuf’s dismissal came with Ferencváros already two goals ahead. Italian coverage of the disciplinary incidents placed the red card in the 77th minute. It created a late opening for Milan, but the visitors protected the result through the remaining time.
Two very different positions at halfway
The teams’ points totals now tell sharply different stories. Four wins give Ferencváros room to pursue direct qualification with confidence. Milan’s single victory leaves it needing a more consistent second half of the league phase. Neither position should be converted into a claim of mathematically secured qualification or elimination before the relevant thresholds are reached.
Under the Europa League format, the top eight advance directly to the last 16, while teams finishing ninth through 24th enter knockout-phase playoffs. The margin between those routes makes every league-phase point important, particularly for a club already trying to repair three defeats.
Milan’s remaining schedule still offers opportunities, but Thursday has increased the pressure to use them. Ferencváros has supplied a different kind of evidence: its perfect record now includes a victory at San Siro, with Joseph’s finishing and a protected clean sheet giving the performance a decisive outcome.
Header photograph: San Siro in December 2025. Archival venue photograph; it does not depict the November 2026 match. Zakarie Faibis, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
