Inter is always stronger: than Milan and beyond

The Madonnina’s 238th derby will hardly be forgotten and goes into the archives with a resounding deficit that splits the mood of the city in two. The Rossoneri Milan woke up traumatized under the torrential rain that hit San Siro. After the first convincing and exciting days, the enthusiasm of the Pioli boys collapsed in the face of what Paolo Condò described in the Sky Sport studies as “Crash testing Red black”. A psychologically and tactically enchanted game for Milan, which perhaps came too early to consolidate the good conditions of this start.

The Biscione, on the other hand, has wrapped itself around San Siro and now seems to want to crush it in its coils. We have never seen a run of five derbies won in a single calendar year, with an aggregate deficit of 12 to 1, leaving little room for much commentary. A mature and clever team, consolidated in the certainty of their own strength and the strength they accumulated in last season’s European Championship. Istanbul was a painful phase, but one that left important “lessons learned”. Hunger for national validation what Inter has missed out on in recent years due to distraction and superficiality, let alone quality.

“Compared to twelve months ago, we changed twelve players, all of them important players. Last year’s season gave us a lot consciousness I won two trophies and played in a Champions League final.

Simone Inzaghi

However, not letting the scoreboard influence you is certainly the most complex challenge when analyzing a game that ended 5-1. If the game is the Milan derby, an elite product of our football, that Temptation to be convinced by superlative adjectives and compelling judgments It’s definitely delicious. But in the Mondrian on display at San Siro, the individual colored blocks are worth considering in their own right, although their overall vision reflects the clear result. And so here we finally highlight the Rossoneri’s different approach, particularly in view of the double European challenge.

If the Nerazzurri’s dominance in the Champions League semi-final was total and all in all the partial results were close, that was the case this time Milan kept the ball for long stretches of the game. However, the laudable desire to take control of the game and hinder Inter’s initiatives collided with a decidedly sterile territorial dominance and an unforgivable absent-mindedness in defense. Pioli has changed a lot compared to last season, both in formation and performances, as he often did in last year’s derbies. However, the Emilian coach’s decisions seem to fall victim to the curse of Il Gattopardo: Everything has to change so that everything stays the same.

And in fact, not only does the effect of the changes have no impact on the final result, but Inter also manages to play the simple game striking again and again, unstoppably in the same way against the city rivals. It is the counterattacks that decide and divide the derby and decide four Nerazzurri goals, even if the first one after just three minutes would at least require greater foresight. Inter on the wings of Marcus Thuram, defined by Garlando.a centaur, like Chiron, Achilles’ master: half Lukaku and half Dzeko“, easily breaks the doubles and starts the offensive. The Frenchman has educated feet, explosive speed and superior football intelligence. He floats around Lautaro and sniffs out the spaces, first to suggest his teammates, and then with a masterful performance to make it 2-0, in the Rossoneri’s best moment of the first half.

Likewise, the man of the match is the same as in the Champions League derbies. Milan still cannot find a solution to the interventions of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who strikes twice and risks bringing the ball home by missing a not impossible header. However, if the Armenian was the cover man of this derby, a lot of credit goes to the other big protagonist of the evening: This time Simone Inzaghi doesn’t do anything wrong. In the week that Davide Frattesi enjoyed success with the blue jersey, he defends his decisions despite the press clamoring for the Roman midfielder’s signing, precisely to the detriment of Mkhitaryan.

However, Inzaghi has clear ideas about the integration of the number 16, his moment will also come from the first minute: so when he uses him instead of a Barella in the reserve, he also finds the Armenian-inspired route to the net, of course with a perfect fit. But Inzaghi also senses the novelty in defense. He takes his chances by reintroducing Acerbiwho returned from his soleus injury sustained in pre-season and had not played since Istanbul, replaced De Vrij, who was back at an excellent level at the start of the season.

The Lombard defender it’s perfect, He doesn’t do anything wrong, he never seems to stop taking out his opponents. While the game is going on, the coach from Piacenza He also guesses the substitutions and prevents Milan from returning. On the contrary, his Rossoneri colleague unbalanced the team by 3 to 1 and, in addition to the defeat, advocated a debacle that should have been avoided so as not to have an emotional impact in the week of the European debut.

The end result is an excessive deficit for Milan, but one that highlights the difference in squad quality between the two teams. The depth of the Nerazzurri bench It’s impressive if you don’t consider that Inter have not yet made their debuts with Pavard, Klaassen and Sanchez, players who, once integrated, will represent further excellent cards in Inzaghi’s deck. An awareness that we have preserved and revealed for years, since Conte and after Conte, is being strengthened, albeit with new interpreters: Inter’s squad is the bestfor a mix of individual qualities and general construction, that exists in Italy. And the one who is able to reach the highest peaks.

“It’s very important to have that Deep pink, soon we’ll be playing every three days. I complimented everyone.

Simone Inzaghi

Although the inequalities between the teams were to some extent known and it was necessary to allow time for the optimal integration of the Rossoneri’s new signings, the bitterest hint came instead from those responsible for the team. Rafael Leao He’s the star around which Milan’s fortunes revolve, but it’s not the first time he’s faded in these games, isolating himself from the game on his beloved left-foot lane and only getting going in fits and starts from then on. Too small for the technical director of a team with legitimate ambitions like Milan.

Theo once again walks away in a daze Due to the pressure of the derby, in the first half he finishes poorly on a diagonal that could have changed the course of the game, and then gradually follows the general trend. The useless and disorganized intervention at Lautaro, which sends the great ex-Calhanoglu to the spot, is the omelette of a terrible evening. Even worse than them were the central defenders Thiaw and Kjaer, who were never in the game and were completely carried around by Lautaro and Thuram.

There’s no time for judgment after just four days, but a game of this level certainly holds promise. Milan walks away with broken bones and yet, we believe, conscious a heavy blow, but not of an internal and creeping evil, on the contrary. Of course, a derby lost in this way weighs heavily, but the confidence built up in the first few days, the excellent reception of some new players (who were clearly missing from the missing Casciavìt squad) and the Rossoneri’s play in general phases of this start to the season point to one hope for a comforting year that may grow and still needs to be written.

Inter’s solidity, on the other hand, is impressive: Inzaghi finally seems to be the master of a group that has made peace with its demons and, we confess, we would be surprised if it still sins with the naivety that compromised the last two Inter has championships. The bar seems set, the course is set, the enthusiasm is new. Now there will be bad weather in the European storm and only after the storm will we know whether Inter has really healed. In this case we will see if he manages to fight the obsession that has been wandering more or less silently in Pinetina for a few years like a ghost: the second star.

_{Cover photo via FC Inter}