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Adrien Rabiot lit up the game in Turin on Sunday night, putting a bit of a bumpy summer fully behind him. La Gazzetta dello Sport write how in just three minutes, the player supposedly ‘deeply saddened by Massimiliano Allegri’s departure’ demonstrated that he can play football and have fun doing so even with a new coach. Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial! The midfielder is not yet at 100% in terms of condition (as expected after just a few training sessions) and perhaps still needs to understand the details of what Amorim demands of him in his 3-4-2-1 system. Yet, as the top-level player he is, Rabiot was decisive off the bench. Rabiot’s response The last few weeks have been ‘turbulent’. A summer that began with the shock of not getting into the Champions League, continued with another blow from his native France at the World Cup, and ended with Milan fans talking about the extra vacation days granted to him and Maignan by Amorim. As if that weren’t enough, looming over all this was the million-dollar question: will Rabiot try to follow his mentor Allegri to Napoli? We’ll never know if Adrien ever actually considered it, but we know what he said after Torino-Milan. “Have I ever thought about leaving Milan after Allegri’s departure? No. I’m someone who likes to do things properly. And leaving Milan like this, without being in the Champions League, after the end of the season we had, I didn’t like it. Amorim immediately texted me to tell me I was important to the project. I was convinced I’d stay, but I needed a bit of a break and a vacation.” Controversy erupted regarding the extended vacation. The head coach Amorim attempted to settle the matter with the classic little white lie, stating: “I was the one who gave him extra days.” Adrien was honest: “We asked for a few more days with Maignan, and it did us good.” A new double role When Rabiot returned to Milanello, he soon found himself face-to-face with Cardinale, who wanted to speak with him individually. The RedBird boss explained the guidelines of the new project and reiterated his centrality in the squad. The Frenchman gave a positive reaction. The rest is obviously being done by Amorim, who has created new roles for Rabiot in the attacking midfield spot. Well, it’s a new position for the Rossoneri, because for Adrien it’s already something he is familiar with. He said after the Torino game: “After speaking with the coach, we said I can play both in a two-man midfield and as an attacking midfielder. It’s a bit like the role I had with De Zerbi in Marseille: I know it well and I enjoy it because I can get into the box and score goals. It’s something I enjoy doing.” It was clear at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, where the young Alphadjo Cisse understandably took the spotlight, but it was Rabiot who set him up, and it was he who sealed the match with the Rossoneri’s second goal. With just a week of training under his belt, there are worse debuts to have. With the former PSG man, Amorim knows he has a key player to deploy in midfield or behind the striker, depending on his needs. Maybe it was worth giving him those few extra days off.