Souffian El Karouani is immediately worth his weight in gold for Benfica on his full debut | Goal.com

Published on 16 Sep 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

AC Milan's Europa League campaign has got off to a poor start. Rúben Amorim's side, still regarded as serious contenders for the trophy, lost 0-2 to Benfica on Wednesday. Souffian El Karouani made an instant impact for the Portuguese side with an assist. 

Benfica made the brighter start and went ahead after a quarter of an hour. Dodi Lukebakio cut inside on to his favoured left foot and curled the ball coolly into the far corner: 0-1. 

Both sides were evenly matched after that, though clear chances were scarce. Georgiy Sudakov hit the post for Benfica, while Filippo Terracciano and Ardon Jashari could not make their efforts count at the other end. 

Milan endured a frustrating night and Amorim made two substitutions at half-time. They changed little, because Benfica doubled their lead in the 53rd minute. Starting debutant El Karouani played the pass and Jakub Kaminski finished magnificently for 0-2. 

That blow ended any hopes of a comeback for Milan. Christian Pulisic still had a big chance, but Benfica were never under any real pressure. They wrapped up a deserved win at San Siro. 

For El Karouani, it was a major boost after a turbulent summer. The left-back left FC Utrecht on a free transfer for Al-Qadsiah this summer, but a remarkable rule then left him on the sidelines. Clubs in the Saudi Pro League are allowed to register a maximum of eight foreign players over the age of 23, which meant El Karouani quickly had to find a way out.

That solution came at Benfica, where he will spend the rest of the season on loan. The 25-year-old Moroccan unexpectedly got the chance to return to Europe and made the move to Lisbon. Against AC Milan, he was handed his first start and immediately provided an assist.

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