INTER-MILAN 1-2
(27′ Dimarco; 10′ Pulisic, 88′ Gabbia)
Inter’s report cards
Summer 7 – Morata warms his gloves right away, he can’t do much on Pulisic. Absolute protagonist in the second half: the one on Leao is not just a save for the photographers, and he repeats himself shortly after on Reijnders. He takes a risk when the ball is stretched out on a clearance, but he is clearly ahead of Abraham’s attempted intervention. In the final, a series of saves: for one night, he is the best on the field of his team, even if he surrenders to Gabbia.
Pavard 5.5 – Pulisic runs away from his side, causing trouble for the Rossoneri defence. And he paints them on the occasion of the 1-1.
Acerbi 5 – What a struggle on Abraham, after having cancelled out Haaland. He often loses the physical duel with the English centre forward: tonight, before going to sleep, a candle to Saint Yann of Morges.
Sticks 6.5 – The most convincing of the Nerazzurri defensive trio: he suffers little and gives his usual contribution in the maneuver phase. Second half as an added winger. (From 82′ Carlos Augusto sv ).
Dumfries 6 – First as a starter this season: ready the popcorn for any sparks with Theo, which all in all do not explode. Contains Leao: overall without too many worries, but at the beginning of the second half the Portuguese takes off in his face. (From 63′ Darmian 5.5 – He comes in when Inter is going astray and he is not the right man to fix it).
Stretcher 6.5 – The best of the Inter midfield, certainly not since today. He holds his own in the initial half-wreck, his is the sabre-throw that leads to the equaliser. (From 74′ Zielinski 6 – The best of the substitutes. And that says it all).
Calhanoglu 5.5 – The news is that the rule of yellow equals change also applies to him: it hasn’t always been like this. Targeted by whistles, but he is used to it by now, he offers an ordinary performance bordering on anonymous. Extraordinary, but not in a positive way, the balls touched: just 42, usually he is much more of a protagonist. (From 63′ Asllani 5.5 – It’s hard to get into a derby like this. But Inter disappears from the field when they take the keys).
Mkhitaryan 4.5 – Everything is expected, except that the professor of the Nerazzurri midfield starts the derby like this. Whether Pulisic touches it with his arm or not, and it seems not, the management of the ball that leads to 1-0 is disastrous. He gets booked in the 18th minute for a frustrated foul. He tries to redeem himself, but no rabbits come out of the hat. (From 63′ Frattesi 4.5 – Why him and not Zielinski? Change to explain, the fact is that the former Sassuolo player does not give what he cannot give. But also something less. And he stays to watch Gabbia who detaches).
Dimarco 6.5 – He builds and finishes the action of 1-1, he is also dangerous on other occasions in the second half. Half a point less because the winning goal of Milan comes from a foul of his.
Thuram 5 – Maybe he has become cynical, but tonight he disappeared into the shirts of the Rossoneri defense. You can’t hear him, you can’t see him, he doesn’t sting.
Lautaro 5.5 – San Siro waits for a goal from him, he responds with assists. He sees the corridor for Dimarco and sends him to score the equalizer. At the end of the first half he also puts Thuram in front of the goal. In the second half he tries to score: it doesn’t work, once again. Can we now call it a coincidence?
Simone Inzaghi 5 – The surprise is that Inter is, pardon the pun, a surprise. Milan’s switch to 4-4-2 is enough to throw the Nerazzurri squad into disarray, as they remain below par for most of the match. No offense, but giving up the three tenors in the second half is a move that needs explaining. And other choices could have been made up front.
Milan’s report cards
Maignan 7 – In the first half he only had one save, but it was a beautiful and decisive one: he went down like a cat to avoid the Thuram joke. It seemed like little, but that goal would have changed the story of the evening.
Royal 6 – He is attracted by Lautaro and leaves a void that Dimarco fills with the equaliser. Better in propulsion in the second half.
Cage 7 – Preferred to Pavlovic and this is a sign of esteem. He repays him with interest: the 2-1 thrust can be worth a season.
Tomorrow 6.5 – Not all beautiful, not all clean. But in the end Inter’s forwards remain dry: that’s what counts.
Hernandez 6.5 – The duel with Dumfries almost doesn’t heat up, Milan’s left chain is the one to find at its maximum splendor. But it’s there.
Pulisic 7 – He is the crowbar that breaks down the Inter defense. He starts on the right, roams all over the field: he steals the ball from Mkhitaryan and through the center he is the one to open the dance. In addition to the opening goal, many good intuitions for his teammates. (From 78′ Loftus-Cheek 6.5 – He earns the free kick that makes it 2-1).
Fofana 6.5 – Muscles, nerve and brain. Not everyone can play like this against Inter’s midfield.
Reijnders 7 – He keeps the pace of his Milan high, puts the ball on Gabbia’s head for 2-1. A professorial evening in the home of the masters.
Leao 5.5 – Exiled in the role of a pure winger, he is the great absentee in a first half played as a ghost. An epiphany at the beginning of the second half, when he almost scores with a header: the second half would have offered him the space to show off, Sommer even denies him a goal. But Milan has the right to expect another attitude from its best player. (From 87′ Chukwueze sv).
Morata 6.5 – He promises fire and brimstone: immediately broadside for Sommer. Then he circles Tammy and does not make himself dangerous in the first person, but shows off a good job for his teammates. (From 78′ Okafor sv).
Abraham 6,5 – He doesn’t score, but he comes very close. He drives Acerbi crazy, a player Guardiola has showered with compliments during the week. And the tandem with the Spaniard works.
Paulo Fonseca 7.5 – He gambles his place on the bench by launching a team that is somewhere between courage and desperation. His intuition, however, is good: in the first twenty minutes his Milan surprises the opponent. In the second half, he even dominates them. Perhaps he is not, as he has been made out to be, the last of the fools.