With AC Milan debuting in the 2026-27 Serie A against Torino, Christian Pulisic and Luka Modric will be two of the team stars starting on the subs bench.
AC Milan are making their 2026-27 Serie A season debut in a road match against Torino on Sunday, August 23, at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. As the starting lineups were unveiled, the absence of USMNT star Christian Pulisic and Croatian icon Luka Modric from the XI raised plenty of eyebrows.
Christian Pulisic will begin the match on the substitute bench as part of a fitness-management decision by head coach Ruben Amorim. The USMNT forward is still working his way back from a severe injury sustained during the World Cup, where he suffered a microfracture and bone edema in the tibia and fibula of his right leg.
Pulisic only returned to full team training sessions two days prior to the Torino match. Given that short ramp-up window, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Alphadjo Cisse will start in the dual No. 10 roles, though the American star traveled with the squad and could feature as a second-half substitute.
Meanwhile, Luka Modric starts on the bench due to a purely tactical choice by Amorim. Throughout recent preseason friendlies, the Portuguese manager favored Ardon Jashari in the double pivot alongside Yunus Musah, with the Swiss midfielder getting the nod on opening day over the veteran Croatian, who will await his opportunity off the bench.
Amorim names his first Serie A XI 📋Brought to you by 𝗞𝘂𝗺𝗵𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗿𝗲 pic.twitter.com/ZYy5f8HbpQ— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 23, 2026
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