Champions League 2022/23 semi-final second leg Inter-Milan 1-0, Euroderby dyed with Nerazzurri, the story doesn’t change. In the 29th minute of the second half, a ballet in the Rossoneri area puts Lukaku and Lautaro in a position to phrase, the Belgian serves the unforgiving Bull. When the chorus “who doesn’t jump is the Rossoneri” starts simultaneously, in which three quarters of the supporters present at San Siro participate, it is because the qualification has taken an irreversible turn.
Inter are booking a trip to Turkey , destination Istanbul. The funfair for Inter supporters will be the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, where the Nerazzurri will play – on 10 June – the very final of the Europe that counts against the winner between Manchester City and Real Madrid. Tactical, understanding, competitive and physical match: the referee Turpin was not at all on the spot for a light management that dissatisfied everyone. Report cards with notes of merit at Inter: Lautaro (8) dominates and drags, Acerbi and Bastoni (7) are a shutter, Barella (7) tireless. At home Milan giants Maignan (7.5), Tonali is a giant soul in a body that struggles to contain it, badly Diaz (5), badly Leao (5).
Simone Inzaghi scores an encore: inside the eleven that sealed off the first of the two semifinals, only the bench for Lukaku and Brozovic. Here Milan. Inside Leao and Thiaw, from 1 ‘also Messias: if the Portuguese was announced and expected, the deployment of the German surprised while the insertion of the Brazilian is the coupe de theater studied in silence by Stefano Pioli to try to shuffle the cards. Right attempt, necessary: absolutely essential.
The 0-2 in the first leg was so clear that it put Inter in a position to virtually play with the 12th man on the pitch: the gap of two goals, in the presence of a Milan that, precisely in the offensive phase, highlighted the main flaw of the current season was an advantage that was difficult to fill. For realists, for optimists, for dreamers. An intersection of unavoidable factors would have been needed which, in the end, didn’t occur.
The exchange of courtesies between Pioli and Inzaghi just before the kick-off
Milan for big occasions? There wasn’t. Inter and its usual harakiri? Although the delay of the bus, which arrived at San Siro an hour after the kick-off and remained bottled up by the bedlam of cheers that acted as a traffic divider, seemed like a sinister premonition, this didn’t happen either. Inzaghi against Pioli, last act: the Rossoneri come out badly, in terms of results and prospects. There are also rumors of an end to relationship, is Antonio Conte’s shadow beginning to weigh?
On the other hand, the Inter coach has placed the 90 shot with which he will be able to overturn his own and others’ destinies: with a foot and a half outside Appiano Gentile just a couple of months ago, Inzaghi jr. rewrote his very personal professional history. Kicking him out now, kicking him out regardless is no longer a light-hearted option: the truth is that the former Lazio player has become the architect of his destiny. And even if it ends like this, whoever comes after will start from an impervious and steeply uphill terrain. Champions, Serie A, Coppa Italia AC Milan’s calendar: only Serie A remains Inter’s report cards Onana 7: more brazen and flamboyant than his Rossoneri counterpart but his interpretation of the role is also noteworthy because his bravado fits him perfectly and does not clash with promptness and effectiveness. He says no to Diaz Darmian 6: he is the defender who is in the most difficulty because Leao acts on his side who, when he launches the blaze, becomes impregnable. He resists him in every way, by hook or by crook. He paid attention to the substance, he did well. Acerbi 7: in part it is the fact that Giroud is not in optimal condition, it facilitates his task, in part it is he who sewed this shirt on the skin and lives in it in symbiosis. He looks like an Inter veteran for his ability to refer to his department and his teammates in general. He doesn’t miss a speech. When he also appears from the Maignan area, the roar of Nerazzurri cheering starts. Sticks 7: stabilize, normalize, make efficient. Evening as a great defender, he doesn’t do more and he doesn’t need to overdo it. Dumfries 6.5: confirms the topside of growth and recovery. He is a different player compared to the evanescent one of a few months ago and his teammates show that they can rely on him. He manages to battle Theo on equal terms, sometimes passing him and other times being overtaken. Stretcher 7: omnipresent. You find him everywhere and it almost gives the feeling that he is ubiquitous.It applies to him, it applies to Tonali. They are essential footballers because they add all the soul they have in their bodies to technical quality and tactical sense. Calhanoglu 6.5: he acts on the sly, he is less bursting than other times and keeps to the point. Substantial contribution in the rearguard, he sorts fewer balls and maneuvers with obvious limitations, due to the fact that Inter’s match is not aimed at attacking like that of the first leg but set up with intelligence and management of the 2-0. Mkhitaryan 6.5: he’s the chess piece you can’t do without because he has exclusive qualities that come together in a single player. Dribble, setup, marking and insertion. There are few others like it. The good news at Inter is that when you are forced to do without him due to injury, a certain Brozovic is the backup.
from the 43rd minute Brozovic 6.5: takes over the specular directives that Inzaghi had entrusted to Chala and Mhky and settle down with the skill of a champion. Translated: he enters the game immediately and stays there until the end. Dimarco 6.5: even the most Nerazzurri heart of all those who took to the pitch does not stand out for his ability to split the match in two simply because that’s not what he was called to do. He carried out every tactical arrangement entrusted to him by Inzaghi with painstaking attention and a sense of duty. On his side, no one runs away.
One of the most intense and enthralling duels of the match, the one between Thaiw and Dzeko
Dzeko 6.5: it’s not the foil competition, this time it’s a boxing match in which tactics and competitiveness have made by mistress. In the great intensity and aggressiveness that characterized the match, Dzeko also carved out an important space for himself by reading the match in the best possible way. He didn’t miss out on his physique, pressing, shouldering and tried to be found there, a stone’s throw from Maignan, as many times as he could. He forces Maignan to a miracle at the end of the first half. Lautaro 8: another game compared to what is expected of a thoroughbred bomber but it was the sublimation of the qualities that make a footballer like Toro unique in his genre. He wears the captain’s armband with great dignity and responsibility: he doesn’t let go of a ball, he travels far and wide to support his teammates and kick off the counter. He moves incessantly, it’s a fury that the rearguard and the Rossoneri midfielder manage to stem by often resorting to tactical fouls. The goal is a prize that seals a test of enormous maturity. Coach Inzaghi 8: what will be, will be. But whatever it may be, he’s taught everyone a lesson. First of all, to the Nerazzurri management for leaving him alone in the topical moments. Then to the more skeptical and controversial fans – many from the keyboard – who launched hashtags to kill him prematurely. Finally also to the players who, when they gathered around the coach, started flying again. He deserves the standing ovation at San Siro, he deserves an apology, he could settle for a more than deserved confirmation. Milan’s report cards Maignan 7.5: big hand open on Dzeko, as if to tell him “I’m here, I’m here”. The security and authority of the Milan supporter is truly above the norm: master of the role, choral interpreter of the setting, unsurpassed gate valve even tonight. impressive instinctive save on Dzeko, to be seen and seen again. Calabria 5.5: the problem is not so much him, Calabria, but rather the opponent he is facing. This Dimarco satanasso version is lateral that would put even more listed defenders in difficulty. Calabria does its best, gives its best, grits its teeth and never saves money. He limits any damage a lot but also gets into trouble and suffers from the Nerazzurri counterattacks. Tomori 6: some uncertainty arrives, a couple of times caught off guard by the movements of Dzeko and Lautaro in the first ration, better settlement in the second half when Inter only relies on counterattacks that the Rossoneri defense manages to dampen promptly. Thiaw 6.5: his presence has a reason. He holds better than Tomori, decisive in closing and in advance. He plays with personality and lucidity, always cold. Thick performance. He resorts to a foul to stop Lautaro, he is a yellow well spent. Theo Hernandez 6: What did he miss? Sprint, grit, charge. He is not the driving Theo of unforgettable times, the tandem with Leao did not shine but self-denial and drive never made them fail. Restarts hurt but they are few. Krunic 6.5: he works in silence and creates substance. You don’t notice it but it’s there: in the middle of the field he plays the dam and the marathon runner, the amount of him is the same that allows his midfield mates to try to exploit spaces and phrasing.Tonali 7: damn it, clone it! Infinito Sandro, he took literally the exhortation of the fans and carried the Rossoneri on his shoulders throughout the match. He runs, damns himself, doubles, proposes, leaves, doubles (sometimes triples), when he has the opportunity he concludes. Masterful performance, Messias 6: the tandem with Calabria does not take off in the offensive phase, it works better in the rearguard phase. He doesn’t add pepper, he doesn’t put his imagination into it, he doesn’t place the flicker he has in his ropes. But he is present, stays in the game, tries and tries again. Diaz 5: the first dangerous shot is his, the first sensational mistake also, conclusion of a phone call to Onana face to face. But he is a different footballer compared to the first leg: more alive, he enters the game, participates in the offensive phase and at times even manages to start it and revive it. The flaws are evanescence, haste, imprecision and discontinuity.
Inter-Milan, a great chance for Leao at the end of the first half. 30 meters run, ball kicked to the side
Leao 5: sly. He doesn’t explode, Pioli himself has tried several times to understand if there were physical problems. First half to Leao worst version for three quarters of the fraction: often detached from the maneuver with the tendency to range very far from the Nerazzurri area. Then the blaze that can change the match: he anticipates Darmian and runs away. Thirty meters of field, all wonderful except the shot that crosses the mirror and goes off to the side. Anonymous shooting. Giroud 5.5: it has been given in non-optimal conditions for some time and it shows. He has never lacked presence and dedication but has never won a tackle against Acerbi. Tendon inflammation is an objective problem but the money of AC Milan’s decisive forwards is equally so. Coach Pioli 5.5: start – or continue, it’s up to you – hence Stefano Pioli’s defense. Which can be discussed, for heaven’s sake, but he faced the season of consecration with a clearly weaker squad than the previous one. The real test, at this point, will only be the mandatory qualification for the next Champions League. He will begin to talk insistently about renewal, about change even on the bench. And yet, reading the numbers carefully and analyzing this team’s squad with a clinical eye, one would realize that the problem does not lie with who sits on the Rossoneri bench. This time, if any work is ever to be judged, it would be necessary to first collect the men of the management (and of the market). The referee’s report cards
From review Clement Turpin’s match direction who managed to displease both teams
Our SUPERTOP
The Bull sees the Rossoneri but it’s as if he only sees red. Incredible match for quality and quantity. Omnipresent in every area of the field, he runs for kilometers and is always in the heart of the game. He is the captain all the way, his evening is magical even if he was seen less than usual in the shooting area, even if for once he put sacrifice before the house specialty. Translated: the goal is never missing, assisted by Lukaku he carved out the opportunity of the evening and exploited it properly. Lautaro has become mentally great: standing ovation
Our SUPERFLOP
Brahim Diaz, another full failure demonstrating that: 1) his season ends in an involutive way; 2) that Milan’s number 10 ends up on his shoulders is an element that discords the prestigious history of the club and its number 10s; 3) in the market it will be necessary to invent something to intervene in that area of the field; 4) redeem it or not? It will be one of the dilemmas that the management will have to try to solve quickly. what is certain, net of everything, is that Diaz is doing little, very little to endorse his stay.
Inter-Milan, the choreography of the Curva Nord
Inter-Milan choreography of the Euroderby
Another box office record at San Siro, this time the box office has boosted the Nerazzurri’s coffers: Meazza sold out, beyond 12 million euros finished at the box office. The setting is the same as the matches that can never be forgotten: the story of the Curva Nord is indelible, the story of the Curva Sud is equally memorable.
A snake crawling along the entire orange ring while with the wording “avanti Inter” was formed. In the hot sector of Nerazzurri cheering stands the image of the Crusader knight who blocks the arrows represented by Inter’s rivals in the Champions League with his shield. Just below, a huge banner: victoria nobis vita, victory for us is life.
Inter-Milan, the choreography of the Curva Sud
Opposite slope: along the blue sector of the second ring , equally obvious banner. The assault, in large letters, with the effigy of a gunslinger dyed red and black.
The Inter calendar: Champions, Serie A, Coppa Italia
The Champions goal remains alive, lit and alive with light reflected. From now until 10 June – the most important football gala evening – it will be a hunt for a ticket to grab a seat at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Inter supporters have a dream they can cherish until the end: Manchester City or Real Madrid, we start against the odds but who cares. How many other times have you approached the key match as underdogs and then the pitch said the opposite? Turkish things, they say, not by chance…
Another final for the nerazzurri: the Coppa Italia one – in which they arrive as reigning champions – against Fiorentina, scheduled for next May 24 in Rome. Inzaghi will try to put the ninth trophy in the club’s history on the Inter trophy cabinet, it would be his third after the triumphs with Lazio in 2018/19 and with the Nerazzurri in the last edition.
Last point, Serie A: keeping your place for qualification in the Champions League is essential, not least also for budgetary reasons. The ranking says Inter 66: third place, +5 from Milan fifth. Last three test benches: on May 21st against Napoli away, the home match on the 28th against Atalanta, closing in Turin on June 4th against the grenades.
Upcoming matches and complete Inter calendar* 100049* AC Milan’s calendar: only Serie A remains
Not much remains, neither in quantitative nor qualitative terms. Translated: having skipped all the other goals, only one now remains, which cannot be renounced, namely fourth place.
The next participation in the Champions League passes through here and the Rossoneri’s situation is far from simple: fifth in ranking with the paradox of making the race not only on the fourth (Lazio which has 4 points ahead) but also on the second, Juventus, at an altitude of 69.
Sporting Justice will guarantee a bonus to the Rossoneri: the penalty at Juventus is certain (it will come), it is only necessary to understand what entity it will be and whether, in addition to this, Massimiliano Allegri’s team will be barred or not by UEFA from participating in the next European cups.
The challenges that for the Milan, at this point in the tournament, count as many finals, or three: on May 20 at the Meazza against Sampdoria; on May 28 in Turin against Juventus; on June 4th at San Siro against Verona.
Milan’s next matches and complete calendar