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AC Milan claimed city bragging rights on Sunday night as they beat Inter 1-0 to jump above them in the table.
As this morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning, Milan won the derby 1-0 last night, extending their unbeaten streak to six games against Inter, with four of those being victories. In short, it’s a good day to go into the office if you support the red side of the city.
The victory has seen Milan jump above their cousins and has taken them into second place in the table, level with Napoli and two points behind Roma. Since the Rossoneri have already beaten both Napoli and Roma and will enjoy weeks without European football, there is more reason to dream.
Christian Pulisic scored the match-winning goal, having already scored a couple last season against Inter. Yet, the hero of the night was Mike Maignan who produced stunning saves in each half to preserve the clean sheet.
Tale of two goalkeepers
In the 29th minute of the second half, when Hakan Calhanoglu stepped up to the penalty spot with Inter a goal down, he felt like he was facing a giant guarding a hockey net. The two best goalkeepers in the league are at the top: Svilar and Maignan. A coincidence?
Yann Sommer on the other side spilled a shot from Alexis Saelemaekers straight into the path of Pulisic for the winning goal. Milan gave the Nerazzurri a lot of the ball, but by choice. Allegri designed them that way: capable of holding firm and striking at the right moment.
For the first time in 14 Serie A derbies, Milan kept Inter from scoring. The steely defence – aided by a timeless Luka Modric – deserves no less credit than Maignan. Can they always play like this on the counter-attack, having dropped points against Cremonese, Parma, and Pisa? We’ll see.
For now, Max is enjoying himself. He hadn’t won a Milan derby since August 2011. It was played in Beijing, and it was Gasperini’s Inter. Fourteen years later, they are the two coaches at the top of the pile in Serie A.
Another head-to-head won
Milan have won three of their games against rivals at the top (vs. Napoli, Roma and Inter), while Inter have lost three (Juve ntus, Napoli, Milan). Cristian Chivu will have to think hard about this.
Never in recent history have the Nerazzurri had so many shots on Milan’s goal (20) without scoring a goal. Two shots hit the post, they had plenty of chances and 60% possession. But there’s no point in dominating if you don’t get anything.
It’s not the first time it’s happened. The feeling of being stronger than the opponents, confirmed yesterday, is gratifying and should pay off in the long run, but Chivu’s men must find a way to capitalise on such quality play.
Last night, Lautaro, Sommer and Calhanoglu let the team down, aside from the missed penalty. In general, in the most critical moments, the Nerazzurri are lacking that killer instinct.
A battle with the post
The game started as many expected: Inter attacked after losing the ball and stayed high up the pitch, while the Rossoneri always retreated, waiting for the enemy’s waves. Calhanoglu came forward to disrupt Modric, but the Croatian almost never returned the favour, remaining in front of the defence.
The forwards and two midfielders disrupted the Turkish player’s build-up. By the 20th minute, Inter already had 69% possession, having started moving the ball around the perimeter to unleash a cross or create space for a through ball.
In the fourth minute, Maignan had to save from Thuram. In the 27th minute, the post denied Acerbi’s header, which reverberated off the upright. Ten minutes later, the best chance came, courtesy of Thu-La. The Frenchman headed down for the Argentine, whose first-time shot was tipped onto the post.
At that point, Inter were almost the only ones controlling the ball and creating some good plays. Had they increased the pace of their ball circulation and added aggression to their attacking play, the game could have even been done at half-time.
Milan gave up on building out from the back, instead seeking to find the spaces the Nerazzurri left by pushing forward. High-speed vertical thrusts were the most dangerous. The most dangerous player in the opening act was Pulisic, who excelled at breaking into space behind Rafael Leao, who Acerbi marked well.
It was the American who caused the biggest scare for Sommer in the 44th minute: a diagonal burst and a vicious shot that grazed the post. For the Diavolo: 0 shots on target. For Inter, two posts, two big chances, and four corners to nil.
Monstrous Maignan
Early in the second half, Fofana stole the ball from Calhanoglu in midfield and Milan – who have lightning-fast transitions in their DNA – were away in a flash. Saelemaekers shot diagonally, Sommer saved, but tipped it into the path of Pulisic who beat Akanji to the rebound.
This is the game Max likes. Leao and Rabiot were thus able to burst into the spaces that open up, and indeed they did. Barella tried to keep Inter connected with his endless runs. Chivu brought on Bonny for a lacklustre Lautaro, and then they were given a lifeline.
They got a penalty for a challenge from Pavlovic who took out Thuram in his follow-through, despite the fact the striker had already crossed the ball. Maignan seemed to make the goal look small, and Calhanoglu couldn’t beat him with a shot towards the bottom-left corner.
That was all Milan needed: the Curva Sud were ignited and the players rose to the barricades to defend the victory as if it were their home game. Milan were ‘focused, fierce, united’, so much so that Inter’s 4-2-4 was ineffective by the end. The offices of Milano this morning will have a lot to discuss.
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