Milan beats Inter 2-1: Pulisic and Dimarco on target, Gabbia scores the decisive goal in the final minutes
No one has ever won the Milan derby seven times in a row and I will continue to be so, at least for now. The best Milan of the season saves the bench of Paulo Fonseca: having arrived at the derby with a hot session, the Portuguese coach comes out with a smile and three points, after having reined in and overcome the Italian champions. The Rossoneri win the Milanese derby – number 240 in official matches – beating theInter with the result 2-1: the deciding factor was the aerial lunge of Matthew Cage two minutes from the ninetieth. Of a match, it must be said, played better and not by a little by the Devil: the 4-4-2 with which Fonseca presents his team surprises the Nerazzurri Simone Inzaghi at the start. Pulisic’s goal opens the scoring, Dimarco’s restores the balance. In the second half, however, it is still Milan who make the game, thanks to some choices by Inzaghi himself that will be discussed, starting with the refusal of the three tenors in such a delicate phase of the game. The one who arrives worse, but played better, wins: this derby is history, it is a game that can change a season or even two. Inter’s, who knows: it is the first stop of the season for the Italian champions and the backlash hypothesis is not far-fetched. Milan’s, one can almost certainly say: winning like this gives an energy that the Rossoneri had never let glimpse in this start of the championship. And this time, far from protests: it ends with the applause of the Curva Sud of San Siro.
TMW live of Inter-Milan
Milan surprise with Pulisic, Dimarco responds: 1-1 at half time. The new formation launched by Fonseca catches the Italian champions off guard: the start is all Milan’s. Morata immediately calls on Sommer, who responds present. The Swiss can’t do much when, in the tenth minute of play, Pulisic steals the ball from Mkhitaryan. He flies towards his goal. The Nerazzurri players protest for a suspected touch with the arm of the American playmaker, but the referee team has no doubts and validates the 1-0. Tempers flare: sparks fly between Pulisic himself and Bastoni, the referee Mariani avoids the yellow card but will have to extract one shortly after for Mkhitaryan and then again for Calhanoglu. As the minutes pass, the Nerazzurri resume their usual rhythm: in the 27th minute Barella fans towards the left, Dimarco controls and asks for a one-two from Lautaro. Emerson Royal is drawn out of position, the winger receives the return ball and crosses it behind Maignan: 1-1. He will hold out until the teams return to the locker rooms, thanks to a feat by the French goalkeeper on Thuram a couple of minutes from the double whistle.
Cage decides the derby. As at the start of the match, the start of the second half is also dominated by the Rossoneri. Royal finds space on the right and crosses: Leao beats Dumfries, Sommer in angel flight parries the Portuguese’s aerial thrust. Milan protests for a contact between the Swiss goalkeeper and Abraham on the development of the game: Sommer clearly takes the ball, but it is the Englishman who gets the worst of it. In the 61st minute, Inter almost remakes the equaliser: Gabbia closes before Dimarco’s thrust. The first changes are by Inzaghi: Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan out, plus Dumfries; Frattesi and Asllani come in with Darmian. In the meantime, balance has returned to reign at the Meazza: it is up to Sommer to deny Reijnders the joy, freed for a shot by a sudden sprint from Leao. On the developments of the resulting corner kick, Mariani points to the spot: a touch by Lautaro is the cause, but VAR clarifies that it was with his shoulder. Penalty revoked. Inzaghi also takes off Barella, Fonseca waits until the last quarter of an hour to imitate him. With a quarter of an hour to go, the teams stretch out and it is the spaces that Leao wants: Abraham offers him a chocolate, Sommer rewraps it for him. Milan again, Abraham again, Sommer again: great save by the Swiss on the cross shot of the former Roma centre forward. At the end, here is the unexpected highlight: Gabbia jumps higher than everyone else, on a free kick by Reijnders, and beats Sommer.