Inter need the real Barella in the derby with Milan

Of all the Nicolòs known to San Siro in years of happy coexistence, this last one was the palest: there was never the same light as always around Barella, electric and a little brash because that’s how he was made, but far from the precision he once was. Nothing that has worried or still worries either the staff in Appiano or the managers gathered in Viale della Liberazione: Inter holds on to their vice-captain even when they are in a bad mood, that big contract worth 6.5 million until 2029 is the guarantee of a long-lasting marriage. If anything, everyone expects a jolt, on the most important night of Serie A and of the city, even more so given that noble band rolled up on his right arm: on Sunday against Milan Barella has the captain’s stripes as the designated vice-Lautaro, in a scudetto derby the coincidence is even more symbolic. If that wasn’t enough, recent collective and individual history weighs on the match: Inter are in a spell that has lasted for two years, they haven’t beaten their cousins ​​since they got their second star in April 2024, while the Sardinian midfielder has never found the shred of a goal against the Devil since he lived in Milan. He scored the only goal when he was still wearing the rossoblù of his Cagliari: defeat in Sardinia against the Rossoneri in the 2017-18 season.

Anti-Rabiot

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His teammates on the island, from Sau to Cossu, amiably called him “Radiolina” for his usual attitude on the pitch: the constant talking (and huffing) was reduced, but not eliminated with maturity. The Nerazzurri fans, however, immediately gave him the mantle of a Marvel hero: Barellik was the character fluttering in the Nerazzurri skies, ready to watch over the club’s dreams of glory. That was the best version of the 28-year-old midfielder, who returned from a minor thigh injury just about twenty days ago: he had been up to play the Poisons match against Juve and immediately after the two against Bodo Glimt, both of which went sideways. On that occasion, it was Nicolò himself who put his face on it, to compliment the Vikings and remember that without a penalty kindly given to Liverpool his Inter would have gone straight to the round of 16. This derby, however, comes after a tactical rest on the lake in the Italian Cup, also because the work at San Siro will be double: from his side will come the noble curls of Adrien Rabiot, who in terms of physique and gallop seems of a different size compared to the rest of his Serie A colleagues. According to the staff’s plan, Barella will not only be called upon to limit the French “Duke”, but should force him to run backwards: Inter are, in fact, thinking of an offensive match starting from midfielders. This season, however, Nicolò himself has been held back a bit also because his shoulder has changed in performances on the right: Luis Henrique is a conservative of the role, a shy person who has never sung at San Siro. In short, the vitality of Dumfries was missed by all his teammates, but especially by the one wearing the number 23 shirt.

Geography

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Barella scored his only goal of the season at home against humble Cremonese, but the midfielder has always managed at least two since joining the Nerazzurri. In the year of the second star he had achieved just a couple, while in the season of Conti’s first scudetto he had gone a little higher, just three. Apart from the boom of 2022-23, a year that ended with the vertigo of 9 goals and the regrets of the Champions League final lost in Istanbul against City, the house specialty has never been finishing. If anything, the best Barella impressed for the dynamism applied to the assist, for the dizzying combinations, for the pace that allowed the entire team to raise the revs. In this 2025-26, garnished for now by six passes that sent his teammates into the net, the average rating stopped at 6.28: we are a little below the standards considering the figures in the two championship seasons: 6.52 in 2020-21 and 6.51 in 2023-24. In the meantime, the geography around Nicolò has changed: the fresh but fluctuating talent of Sucic has arrived, Calha has been slightly lost amid various physical problems and Zielinski has found an unknown centrality in Chivu’s midfield. The last combination would be Barella with the old superpowers. In one word, Barellik.