Monza-Inter 2-2: goals from Darmian, Ciurria, Lautaro, Dumfries own goal

From our correspondent Filippo Conticello

January 7th
– Monza

Without the same nastiness of the big match against Napoli, with some unsolicited worries, more errors scattered here and there, and here Inter stops the march that seemed launched: they make a comeback in recovery from a strong-willed Monza, draw 2-2 in a match which it had to carry through naturally and is forced to reduce its comeback ambitions. Lautaro may well have returned to scoring who, having disposed of the world celebrations, brought his competitive spirit to Brianza as well, but defensive sleep has also returned, the real ballast of the season.

FIRST HALF

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At the start of the game, Inzaghi surprises up front because he leaves the newly found totem out by surprise: Romelu Lukaku would only need to put in minutes to improve his condition, but he takes a seat on the bench to line up Lautaro Mundial. Next to Bull, the eternal Dzeko who at the moment seems to be the only real owner. And then on the right, for the second race in a row, Darmian takes the place in Dumfries to buffer the dangerous Carlos Augusto, the often sharper arrow from Monza. In the Brianza 3-4-2-1, Pablo Marì’s return as starter to central defense warmed his heart for the first time since the stabbing in Assago: good news even if it certainly won’t be the best night of his life. Up front, then, Palladino relies on Petagna assisted from behind by Machin and Ciurria. The first few minutes are enough to understand where the black tower hangs: Darmian is not only called to stop, but he must also act as a specialized attacker. In the second raid he immediately finds the 1-0 by taking advantage of the usual assist from the left, this time from Bastoni. Such a quick lead, in the 10th minute, would make one think of a healthy walk here in Brianza and, instead, not even the time to celebrate that Inter is falling back into their old habits: the defensive slumbers, which disappeared with Napoli, reappear a minute after the goal. Ciurria, delightfully unmarked by Captain Pessina, finds a way to center from the right and find the corner with the left. Monza, strengthened by the draw, also builds some additional opportunities, especially from an inactive ball by exploiting Petagna’s physicality. But the match at the start is a pinball machine, he can’t find peace, and poor Pablo Marì can’t find peace either: the defender who has just returned to full strength falls asleep in the 22nd minute and has the ball pickpocketed in the small area by Lautaro. Too easy for the Bull score the 2-1, his personal return gift from Qatar. The new lead therefore has the power to put Inter back on the right track of the game because the ball starts to move from one side to the other as usual, with nice combinations from before. Thus, on the best action of the first half, Barella frees Dimarco to shoot on the wrong foot: in this case the right foot is not the same as the left foot. Overall, the Nerazzurri advance and Monza retreat, a score that continues up to the interval and beyond.

SECOND HALF

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In the second half, Inter find a Bull inspired, who headed dangerously in the area and then cut Palladino’s defense like butter, releasing Darmian in the cross: it’s as if the goal popped the cork and added beer to the Argentine world champion. Among other things, after less than ten minutes he finds his Belgian twin because Inzaghi sends Dzeko to the bench, a distant relative of the lethal attacker of recent times: Romelu Lukaku, a giant certainly not used to taking over from the bench, continues the work for his part reconnection of the Lu-La, very tiring here at the U-Power Stadium. At the same time, the Nerazzurri also replaced the control room: Calha out due to a slight psoas strain and Asllani in. After eight minutes Barella also comes out, spared given the many commitments, and Gagliardini goes inside. In the sum of all the addends, Simone’s team loses possession of the ball, lowers the center of gravity and constantly concedes the initiative to the Brianza players: in practice, another game. In fact, Monza finds courage in the construction, trying to exploit fresh energy with the entrances of Gytkjaer in front and Ranocchia plus Colpani in the middle. He creates an occasion with a dangerous gap from Marì, always him, stopped by an attentive Onana. Overall, the tide has really changed and, in order not to risk more than necessary, Inzaghi feels the need to buffer the flanks by bringing both Gosens and Dumfries in together. If Skriniar’s covers (to whom the Inter fans asked to return with a banner) give security to the defense, in front of Lukaku the starting point is still missing and so he loses several duels with Caldirola. Then again Lautaro has to go it alone and invent a shot from the small area that ends up on the post. But, just when everything seems decided, here comes the unexpected omelette at the Nerazzurri: a break from Caldirola leads to a deserved 2-2 overall. The headboard is given by a Monza who grew up at Inter with a decisive deviation from Dumfries: only the ribbon is missing in the gift.