Coming into this next Milan derby there was a lot of nervousness with a lack of squad investment for AC Milan and a win would not only make the gap 4 points but with a game in hand to Inter could potentially stretch out to 10 points for Inter Milan. In addition after Milan’s great star to the season last year to then falter, we all wanted to avoid a battle for 4th position especially with the strengthening of top 4 rivals Napoli, Juventus and Atalanta.
This match would be decided on individual battles of players on one one particularly the battles between Kessie needed to silence Brosovic’s impact, the battle of Dumfries vs Theo, Tonali v Barella, Dezko and Laurto vs Kalulu and Romagnoli.
The match started off a real brutal affair with Inter suffocating Milan for the first half who were unable to muster more than one scuffed shot . Leao was silent ,Giroud was battling against three men, Salaemakers ran himself into trouble constantly, Kessie had nil impact with only Mike Maignan and Tonali having a significant impact on the proceedings as Inter prevented any flow or attacking intent in an impressive display.Mike saved nearly every shot in the box as they rained upon him from Inter who could have buried the game early in the first half. However Inter good intentions found good luck as Perisic scored at the 38th minute from a corner where he found himself in space.
Early into the second half AC Milan were battling their way into the
game, with much of the attacking strikes fronted by Tonali from distance. Pioli
made the initiative to make substitutions of Salaemakers and Kessie for Messias
Jnr and Brahim Diaz which proved pivotal to change the game. Both provided much more offensive options and
especially Brahim Diaz who when he had the ball he found himself causing chaos
by attracting fouls or running into space. It was very quick when a deflection
from Brahim found a toe poke form Giroud that changed the course of the game
and brought the contest to 1-1. Bennacer’s impact with Tonali on the game grew
as they began to dictate the game and created constant turn overs , with a
bullish shoulder from Giroud who set himself up moments later to score a slow
motion matrix turn past De Vrij which provided him space to shoot and score.
Inter Milan did manage to have more game time on the ball from there but much
of it was wasted intent and chances with Milan’s defence holding strong, Maignan
coming out of the box to take calculated risks as well as wasting precious time
by being grounded after each save. Theo did provide late runs into the Milan
half however Dumfries had a strong presence for majority of the game and their
battle turned physical before the heat boiled over and a red card to Theo for
preventing a very late last-minute counter-attack into space.
Though Inter Milan dominated much of the first half Maignan’s amazing saves kept the damage to a minimum , Kalulu and Romagnoli worked well together both did well made minimal mistakes , Tonali’s everlasting presence, Brahim Diaz and Messias Jnr ability to create chaos and Giroud at the right place at the right time ensured AC Milan got over the line.
3- Mike Maignan
2- Giroud
1-Tonali
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