Derby della Madonnina
Inter lose 2-1 in the Derby della Madonnina after Giroud’s brace flips the score on Saturday. Olivier Giroud scored a brace in the second half in just four minutes to secure a comeback win against the defending champions Inter. The win brings AC Milan within a point from reigning scudetto winners Inter, though the Nerazzurri have one game in hand to play. Here’s our thoughts on the Derby:
First Half
Inzaghi’s men had a phenomenal display in the first half with more possession and chances created than their city rivals. Dumfries saw himself in front of goal and his disallowed header goal came in the early minutes of the first half. Inter continued to press Milan and created many chances most memorably, Dumfries’ shot 3 yards in the box. Milan’s Mike Maignan had a very solid match with 4 crucial saves.
Inter’s goal came in the 38th minute from a corner set-piece which found Perisic on the far post. The Croatian struck a low driven volley directly from Hakan’s corner kick. The Nerazurri continued to dominate the first half until the very end.
Second Half
Stefano Pioli made a very quick substitution in the name of Messias Jr for Saelemaekers who had a very quiet first half. Real Madrid’s loanee, Brahim Diaz was also subbed on for Kessie who played an attacking role. This gave Milan a more free flowing attacking second half which we saw the Rossoneri create more chances. Inter held up their own until the 70th minute where Simone Inzaghi got it all wrong. The substitutions of Ivan Perisic and Alexis Sanchez completely flipped the table for Inter. Just minutes after, Olivier Giroud managed to tackle Sanchez off the ball and score the first goal for Milan. The second goal came quickly after in the 78th minute with Giroud taking on De Vrij and placing the ball past Handanovic.
Inzaghi’s substitutions continued with Vidal, Vecino and Darmian coming on for Brozovic, Bastoni and Hakan. This gave Milan more dominance in the midfield and attack.
Inzaghi Got It All Wrong
One thing we can certainly say is that Simone Inzaghi blew the lead he had in the first half. Sitting back in the second half and making crucial substitution cost Inter the derby win and more importantly jeopardizing the scudetto lead. This needs to be a learning experience for Inzaghi as we have seen the same mistake before this season.
Samir Handanovic
Samir Handanovic is a respected Inter veteran who has stuck with the Nerazzurri through tough times. For that, he deserves all the love and respect. However, we cannot continue to defend the Slovenian goalkeeper who is clearly past his prime. Tonight he made a great save against Tonali’s shot but Giroud’s second goal was closer to the middle than the bottom left corner. Milan’s Mike Maignan gave them the win tonight after making incredible saves in the first half. We expect our goalkeeper to make crucial saves to help the defense. Ajax’s Onana has officially signed for Inter this January transfer window and will be a part of the squad in the summer. We hope to see a great goalkeeper in goal.
Final Thoughts
Inter still have a game in hand and face Napoli in Serie A after the Coppa Italia fixture against Roma. Milan sit 1 point behind the Nerazzurri in this very close scudetto race having played 1 extra match. Simone Inzaghi needs to understand that crucial players such as Ivan Perisic and Lautaro Martinez cannot be substituted out in important matches like today. Inter now have to face Napoli with low confidence away from home at Stadio Diego Maradona. This match will set the mood for this scudetto race between Inter and Milan.
