Milan wins the San Siro derby, punishing Inter and overtaking them in the standings. What did the direct challenge between the two Milanese teams say and why Allegri did better than Chivu
Max&Mike, the couple who make Milan fly and give the Rossoneri people a fairytale night and a week close to the top of the table with a view to a championship fight which – should the pace of the best remain this – could also concern Pulisic and companions. The made in USA striker signed the victory in the 250th derby in history by punishing Inter who attacked with their heads down, not always maintaining balance and restraint.
Milan won the most coveted prize, however, for one reason above all: they played the match that Max (Allegri) had prepared by capitalizing to the maximum the little created and when she went into apnea, Mike (Maignan) took care of closing the door. Perfect work and the Rossoneri’s pace in the clashes with the other big names in the championship is starting to be no coincidence: 13 points in 5 games, if there was a scudetto reserved only for this category it would have already been awarded halfway through the season.
Milan stronger than offensive deficits: Leao bad
Allegri has created a tailor-made outfit for his group, going beyond obvious offensive limitations. In the derby, for example, the debut of the Pulisic-Leao duo only worked in part if it’s true the Portuguese finished with zero shots on target and a paltry 23 touched balls. His teammate did better and not only for scoring the winning goal, but despite this impairment in giving depth to the maneuver, Milan always gave the feeling of knowing what to do at every moment of the match.
Inter, another defeat after Juventus and Napoli
Inter were defeated in the third big match of the first round and once again could have regrets. In Turin against Juventus it was Sommer’s missed saves, in Naples there were refereeing issues and a certain defensive carelessness, this time the rearguard was pierced by a searing counterattack but above all there was a lack of cynicism and malice in front of goal.
A year ago, Calhanoglu’s missed penalty in November against Napoli cost him the Scudetto. The Turk also let himself be hypnotized by Maignan (two penalties saved and two victories guaranteed for Milan) and the effects of the error will be measured in a few months. Blaming bad luck, however, risks being a sterile exercise for Chivu who has not yet found the password to unleash the power of his team in complicated challenges such as a derby.
Defeat can be a step of growth or an alarm bell that rings. In September the double defeat against Udinese and Juventus marked the beginning of a string of successes, now comes the away match in Madrid which opens the second part, the real one, of the Nerazzurri’s Champions League. It is urgent to get up and take advantage of the lessons of San Siro so as not to turn the season into a gigantic I would like but I can’t.
