Milan picked from where they had left off last spring, beating Inter in the Derby della Madonnina for the second time in a row and passing the Nerazzurri in the Serie A ranking. Today’s Derby was a magnificent calcio affair, which Milan won by 3-2 as they benefited from two goals and one assist of Rafael Leao.
Inter took the lead with Marcelo Brozovic and managed to pull one back with Edin Dzeko after Milan had scored three in a row but crashed into Mike Maignan’s wall when they attempted to re-balance the score.
But, aside from winners and losers, the Derby di Milano served as a great commercial for the Serie A and Italian football – which had offered a concerning string of lackluster games in this season start.
#MilanInter: team news ?@_OlivierGiroud_ leads the line ?#SempreMilan #ACMilanIsForever@Sorare pic.twitter.com/aueqhQK6Ya
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 3, 2022
For the grand gala at the San Siro, Stefano Pioli deployed what could be considered his best lineup, with Charles De Ketelaere playing in the “number 10” role behind lone striker Olivier Giroud.
Simone Inzaghi also had his best men available, save for Romelu Lukaku. The Nerazzurri coach had to make it without the big Belgian – easier said than done – and chose Joaquin Correa instead of Edin Dzeko to partner with Lautaro Martinez upfront.
Since Inter and Milan have restarted to be Scudetto contenders in recent years, the Derby della Madonnina has been a heated affair. This one didn’t make exception. There was a little quarrel between Denzel Dumfries and Theo Hernandez just a few minutes after kick off, which resulted in both players scoring a yellow card. Giroud also had something to say to Milan Skriniar when the Slovakian presumably took a dive. Just regular derby stuff.
Marcelo Brozovic was the man for Inter in the first half. The Croatian started with a dangerous conclusion, finalizing a nice one-touch effort from the Nerazzurri, which the Milan defense scrambled to clear. It was a warning sign.
For Milan, Rafael Leao woke up after 15 minutes of lethargy and drilled a cross into the box, with Alessandro Bastoni risking an own goal in an attempt to anticipate Giroud. The Portuguese then drew a save from Samir Handanovic with a tricky left-foot conclusion.
On 21 minutes, a sudden blunder by Milan’s defense led to Inter’s opener. Brozovic received the ball Lautaro Martinez and fired it past Mike Maignan to put Inter ahead. However, there was no man in red and black to prevent the Croat from receiving El Toro‘s pass.
But Inter soon repaid the courtesy with a dreadful horizontal pass in their defensive third that was easily intercepted by Sandro Tonali. The former Brescia talent served Leao on the left and the Portuguese drilled the ball into the back of Handanovic’s net, making it 1-1 on 28 minutes.
Leao’s equalizer galvanized the Rossoneri who kept pushing for the rest of the first half. Tonali intercepted from an Inter attempted pass again and exchanged the ball with Giroud, but his shooting effort came up weak and was controlled by the Inter custodian.
Hernandez fired a shot that sailed above the bar, sending a chill down Simone Inzaghi’s back, then Inter came to threaten the Rossoneri goal again with a Lautaro shot that was blocked by Fikayo Tomori, drawing the curtain shut on a spectacular first half.
1️⃣1️⃣⚫?
— Inter (@Inter_en) September 3, 2022
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After the restart, Milan picked from where they’d left off and soon built a double lead that would prove decisive.
First, there was a Theo Hernandez header from a Tonali free kick that went out by just a few inches. Then, Rafael Leao threw a ball into the box that was volleyed home by the Man of the Derby Giroud, who was guiltily left unmarked by the Nerazzurri.
The two exchanged their roles on 60 minutes as the Frenchman’s pass set the stage for Leao’s masterpiece of the day. The Portuguese starlet slalomed through three Inter defenders before slotting the ball past the keeper, making it three for Milan.
The Derby della Madonnina seemed over, but Inzaghi’s changes managed to reanimate it. The Inter coach came up with a triple substitution as he brought in Federico Dimarco, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and, moreover, Edin Dzeko.
It was the Bosnian to give the Nerazzurri some new hopes as he immediately whipped the ball home from a Matteo Darmian cross, anticipating Tomori in the occasion.
It was a goal that switched the momentum of the game again as Inter started to furiously pushed an equalizer – and they would have probably gotten one if it weren’t for Mike Maignan.
The Rossoneri goalkeeper conjured a flurry of spectacular saves that kept his side afloat. The Frenchman defused Lautaro Martinez’s header from close-range, then denied Dzeko with his foot. But his most decisive intervention came from an Hakan Calhanoglu screamer from outside the box, which he finger-tipped away to preserve his side’s slim lead.
After Milan somehow managed to weather the storm, chances started to dwindle as both sides grew tired. Mkhitaryan’s right-foot shot during added time was the Nerazzurri‘s last effort, but it ended off target by a few inches.
It ended with Milan taking all points on offer in a Derby played “at home” for the first time since 2016, even though a draw would have perhaps been a fair outcome and a prize to both teams for offering a thrilling a calcio show.
Immaculate vibes ?#ACMilanIsForever #MilanInter #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/LkZkIbSAiV
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 3, 2022
MATCH SCORECARD
September 3, 2022 – Serie A 2022-2023 Round 5
MILAN – INTER 3-2
SCORERS: 21′ Brozovic (I), 28′ Rafael Leao (M), 54′ Giroud (M), 60′ Rafael Leao (M), 67′ Dzeko (I)
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MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria (84’ Kjaer), Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Bennacer, Tonali (84’ Pobega); Messias (72’ Saelemaekers), De Ketelaere (63’ Brahim Diaz), Rafael Leao; Giroud (73’ Origi) (Tatarusanu, Mirante, Ballo-Touré, Adli, Bakayoko, Dest, Thiaw, Vranckx, Gabbia) Coach: Pioli |
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INTER (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, de Vrij (84’ D’Ambrosio), A. Bastoni (63’ Dimarco); Dumfries, Barella (63’ Mkhitaryan), Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Darmian (84’ Gosens); Lautaro Martinez, Correa (64’ Dzeko) (Cordaz, Onana, Gagliardini, Bellanova, Asllani, Acerbi, V. Carboni) Coach: S. Inzaghi |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Dumfries, Brozovic (I), Hernandez, Giroud, De Ketelaere, Tonali, Rafael Leao (M); Extra Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 5′
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