Milan vs Inter 0-0: Dull Draw in Coppa Italia Derby di Milano

The first leg of yet another Coppa Italia Derby di Milano ended with no winners as Milan and Inter gave life to an unremarkable goalless draw on Tuesday night. The two Milanese sides will square off again at the San Siro on April 20, with the Nerazzurri having the “home advantage”.

Inter extended their goal-scoring drought to more than 400 minutes despite Simone Inzaghi having his full squad available and making full use of it – including the return to the pitch of Joaquin Correa and Robin Gosens for a few minutes. 

Stefano Pioli, on the other hand, opted for a few changes versus his usual lineup with Alessandro Florenzi starting at right back, Alexis Saelemaekers recovering his right wing spot and Rade Krunic playing behind lone striker Olivier Giroud.

It was the Rossoneri to come closer to break the deadlock but Pioli’s side paid for their lack of effectiveness in the final third. Conversely, Inter’ performance was lackluster and in line with what seen in the past few weeks. All in all, this edition of the Derby della Madonnina didn’t live up to its fame. 

Samir Handanovic started off on the wrong foot with an abysmal pass for Marcelo Brozovic, who was easily dispossessed of the ball by Saelemaekers. Handanovic partially redeemed himself saving the Belgian’s subsequent conclusion, but what a scare that was.   

Two minutes later, it was up to Theo Hernandez to test the Nerazzurri goalkeeper again but his right-foot conclusion went wide of the target.

Inter’s only threat came on 22 minutes but was brilliantly defused by Alessio Romagnoli, who prevented Edin Dzeko’s close-range header from an Ivan Perisic cross with perfect timing. That was the captain’s last effort as soon enough he had to raise a white flag due to a muscle injury, giving way to Pierre Kalulu.

Inter continued to suffer defensively for the rest of the first period. Rafael Leao, in particular, was an absolute scourge to the Nerazzurri backline but lacked precision in the final third. When the Portuguese finally adjusted his aim, right after the restart, Handanovic saved the day as he palmed away his deadly conclusion from outside the box.

Those expecting to see a different match in the second half were left disappointed. The only changes seen were actual substitutions as Simone Inzaghi sent in his Chilean troops in Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal. Pioli replied immediately after by changing three of his men and putting in Ante Rebic, Junior Messias and Brahim Diaz. 

None of these changes made a difference though as the match slowly drifted towards an unavoidable nil-nil tie. And so, the only emotions of the night were provided before the game when a video message from Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko calling for peace in his home Ukraine was shown to the San Siro audience.

What unites us is stronger than what divides us.

Ciò che unisce è più forte di ciò che divide. pic.twitter.com/foy5YWENBG

— AC Milan (@acmilan) March 1, 2022

 

MATCH SCORECARD

March 1, 2022 – Coppa Italia 2021-2022 Semi Finals
MILAN – INTER 0-0