Derby Edition [Newsletter]

For the first time in two years, almost to the day, Milano is red and black. With their backs up against the wall, and a gun to Paulo Fonseca’s head, the players responded in the best way possible and deservedly prevailed 2-1 in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday evening. A win that is worthy of its own newsletter edition, so read on as we recap the beautiful night and what followed.

In the days leading up to the game, the Milan fans were pessimistic to say the least. Fonseca was hammered by the media following the 1-3 defeat against Liverpool and based on how the players reacted in that clash, it felt like they had lost faith in the Portuguese manager as well. Adding fuel to the fire, reports regarding a potential switch to a 4-4-2/4-2-4 formation emerged on the eve of the big clash.

‘Crazy’ and ‘risky’ were some of the adjectives used to describe Fonseca’s late change, yet it turned out to be a very successful way of neutralising the core of Inter’s build-up: Hakan Calhanoglu. The less said about the midfielder the better, but the fact that Simone Inzaghi replaced him with Kristjan Asllani already in the 63rd minute speaks volumes.

By utilising Alvaro Morata in the No.10 role, as confirmed by Fonseca after the game, Milan were able to cut out most passing options in the centre and thus forced Inter to play on the flanks. As some have been keen to point out, the Nerazzurri did still create chances and above all via the flanks, but that’s something they do against every team - even Man City - so you just have to limit the damage.

Not to mention that in the end, the Rossoneri were the ones who created the best chances to clinch all three points. Rafael Leao squandered a 1v1 after a lovely counter-attack, and Tammy Abraham missed a sitter following a Tijjani Reijnders pass that was out of this world. With time running out, Matteo Gabbia became the unsung hero with a fantastic header and fulfilled a childhood dream.

All this to say that while Inter perhaps didn’t have their best game, Milan’s tactics played a huge part in their struggles and this is something to build on moving forward. Quite clearly, the players are capable of putting in the effort and achieving positive results when they want to, now it’s just a case of Fonseca getting them onboard consistently.

Derby Bulletin

➤ Paulo Fonseca was very pleased as he spoke to the media after the win. Contrary to reports before the game, he explained that Milan still used the same structure and formation against Inter, as ‘only the players changed’. He also reflected on the tactical success and stated that he hadn’t seen Inter have these many struggles against an opponent for a long time.

➤ Despite scoring the winner, Matteo Gabbia played down his role and focused on the collective in his post-match interview. ‘By giving everything we can make the fans proud’, he stated. Tammy Abraham shared the centre-back’s verdict as Milan ‘played as a team’, but admitted that he ‘had to score’ when asked about the big chance in the second half.

➤ Milan legends Billy Costacurta and Massimo Ambrosini were both very happy with what they saw from Fonseca’s side, with the latter even stating that they are Inter’s main rivals in the Scudetto race. The former defender added that the derby win ‘could really bring belief to this project’. Hopefully, both of them are right.

➤ As you would expect, several players earned high ratings in Gazzetta dello Sport’s player ratings this morning, with Matteo Gabbia named the MOTM at 7.5/10 thanks to the winner and an impressive defensive display. The likes of Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders, both at 7, were close seconds and Paulo Fonseca got a high score too at 7.5. In our ratings, Gabbia was also the MOTM at 8/10.

➤ In addition to Milan clinching their first derby win in two years, there were some other interesting stats from yesterday’s derby. The XG score was convincingly in the Rossoneri’s favour and it was also the first time they had opened the scoring in a derby since 2020. As if that wasn’t enough, Christian Pulisic asserted his brilliance, now on 19 goals and 12 assists (all comps) since joining last summer.

➤ Although it was clear for everyone to see, Simone Inzaghi held up his hands after the game and stated that Milan ‘deservedly won’. He was brutally honest in his assessment of Inter as they failed to approach both halves in the right way. ‘Something that rarely happens to us,’ he said, further proving that Milan deserve praise for their performance.