MILAN DERBY IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Italians follow the example of the Spanish and also celebrate the Super Cup of their country in Saudi Arabia (and even in the same King Fahd stadium) in the middle of the season. One can only envy the home fans. After El Clásico, they were lucky enough to witness one of the oldest and most important derbies in world football.
Milan has been in the shadow of other Italian giants for a long time and only in recent years has it become a truly significant force. So it’s no surprise that the last time the Rossoneri won this tournament was in 2011. Naturally, their motivation would be prohibitive even if they had someone less principled in front of them.
As far as lineups go, both coaches’ injured lists were pretty long. For example, the two main goalkeepers, Mick Menian and Samir Handanovic (who remained on the bench), were absent and were regularly replaced by Ciprian Tătarusanu and Andre Onana.
It should be noted that Alexis Salemakers, Tommaso Pobega and Pierre Kalulu, who had a failed game with Lecce (2-2), remained in the reserve, while Simone Inzaghi had a very attacking squad with two forwards Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martínez, who from the bottom supported by Hakan Chalkhanoglu, Nikolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
JEKO EXPERIENCE, GIRU EXPERIENCE
Prior to the match, knowledgeable sources pointed out a remarkable fact. The Rossoneri have been the first to concede in five of their last seven games, while the Nerazzurri have opened the scoring in five of their last six games. And already in the 11th minute, this statistic was justified when Dzeko braked in the center of the field, allowed Barella to overtake him, and in the touch he gave the icy defenders a play. The midfielder, from a vantage point, hit the approaching Federico Dimarco to the left, and fired freely at Teterushanu.
This goal opened the game and turned it into an open fight with attacks on a collision course. Inter was more effective in that. Rafael Leau missed his chances, and Dzeko turned Sandro Tonali into the penalty area at the decisive moment and put the ball into the far corner from a lethal position. How smart this Bosnian striker. After all, he was third behind Lautaro and Romelu Lukaku, but the Belgian is out of shape and Dzeko seizes the opportunities that come his way.
The second goal sent the Milan players to a fall, and Inter – to the peak of courage. The black and blue began to completely suppress the opponent’s midline, tearing them apart in every possible way: in pressure, in combined play, in speed. The standards also looked dangerous, so Tăterushan had to work hard not to go for the ball out of the net for the third time.
The more experienced Olivier Giroud helped the red and black: he saw that the partners were already suffocating and took a break to tie his shoelaces. After this mini pause, the opponent no longer had such an impressive advantage.
TOO MUCH LEAU
Last weekend, Milan looked just as mediocre in the first half of the match with Lecce, in which they rallied from 0:2 at halftime. Once again, Stefano Pioli in the locker room managed to rekindle the spark in his players, and in the second half they came out more concrete in their actions. Shots rained down on the Onan goal, with the first six coming from players on the left side of the pitch: Leau (winger), Bennacer (left central midfielder) and Theo Hernández (full back). The bias towards this edge was obvious.
The problem of “Milan” in the excessive obsession with Leau. When the Portuguese leaves, he can make a difference. It is not surprising that he was recognized as the best player in Serie A last season. But he doesn’t always get it. Also, his playstyle (switch to center and hit) is pretty predictable. And if in matches with lower-class teams his dribbling is enough to create sharpness, then in the match with the Inter defenders he has no advantage. It is easy to read and the strikes are locked. But the partners continue to feed him with balls.
In the second half, Inter was quite accommodating, but not only did not allow the rival to close the gap on the scoreboard, but also led it to a big one. Lautaro, after a long pass from deep, pushed past Fikayo Tomori, went down one-on-one with Taterushanu and deftly clipped the ball deep. And he went to celebrate. In the club, he plays an order of magnitude stronger than in the Argentine national team.
Thus Inter won the Italian Super Cup, which became Simone Inzaghi’s fourth in his coaching career (he took two of them to Lazio). Marcello Lippi and Fabio Capello have the same number. Most of them are on a par with such masters. Well, Pioli just stood there helplessly watching the celebration of the main rival. His Milan has been out of commission lately, which confirmed this match.
Italian Super Cup
Milan – Inter – 0:3 (0:2)
Goals: Dimarco, 11 – 0:1. Dzeko, 21 – 0:2. Lautaro Martinez, 77 – 0:3.
AC Milan: Teterushanu, Calabria (Dest 79), Chier (Kalulu 64), Tomori, Theo Hernandez, Tonali, Bennacer, Messias (Origi 64), Braim Diaz (from Ketelare 64), Leau, Giroud (Rebic), 79).
Inter: Onana, Skrinjar, Acerbi, Bastogne (de Vrey 84), Darmian, Barella (Gagliardini 71), Chalkanoglu (Asllani 84), Mkhitaryan, Dimarco (Gozens 63), Lautaro Martínez, Dzeko (H. Correa, 71).
Warnings: Barella, 33. Calhanoglu, 72. Theo Hernández, 77. Lautaro Martínez, 79. Tonali, 85.
Referee: Maresca.
