After 98 minutes of football, Inter would finally lead 2-1. An incredible Christian Eriksen free-kick bringing victory and city bragging rights back to Inter.
For most of the match, Inter were dominant although they were behind on the scoreboard. Zlatan’s ego getting the best of him, as he was sent off causing his team to finish the match with 10 men. Ultimately costing his team the match.
Now, let’s look a bit further into some key points from the match.
Lucky, but deserving –
The Zlatan send off was the point where Inter started to show their dominance and really take the game to Milan. A whopping 28 shots, 12 corners and 67% of possession would be how the match would finish for Inter.
Up until the red card, Inter had a couple of decent chances but the score would remain 1-0 in Milan’s favour. Luckily, a stupid challenge from Leao in the box on Barella would send Lukaku to the penalty spot.
Big Rom made no mistake, and the score was now level with Inter having all the momentum from then.
It wouldn’t be until the last minute of stoppage time where Eriksen would step up to seal the game for Inter. Top bins is what Inter fans would yell out after that freekick. Absolutely magical!
Even if Eriksen has flopped up until this point at Inter, it doesn’t matter with a match winner like that.
Onto a Coppa Italia semi-final where the likely opponents will be a strong Juventus team.
Barella just keeps impressing –
Consistency will be what makes Barella go to the next level. If he can produce this game in game out, then Barella will definitely be one of the best midfielders in the world.
Today was another example where Nicolo just worked his butt off for the whole time and rewarded Inter with something great.
A quick dummy and fake cross would earn Inter a penalty and chance to bring the scores level. It’s situations like this where we appreciate the player we have, as he will comfortably go box to box for 90 minutes without any complaints.
A rare sight to see –
It’s not very often we see a referee get injured, so we were treated to a rare occurrence today. Paolo Valeri was having a very up and down match up until that point, so him getting injured was actually a blessing in disguise.
The referee’s replacement Daniele Chiffi took over from Valeri and definitely let the game flow. A couple of decisions he ruled correctly, so only a positive rating for the fourth official in the minutes Chiffi managed.
Where to next?
An inconsistent January will finally come to an end when Inter host Benevento. The Nerazzurri will be hoping to get the Serie A campaign back on track.
A big win at home will bring some confidence with tough fixtures coming up.
