Tactics, psychology, hunger and resistance: the taboo has been dispelled, now the Devil will meet the Nerazzurri with a different face in less than a month at San Siro. And maybe in the Italian Cup and, who knows, maybe even in the Champions League
Riad gives, Riad takes away. Two years ago Milan returned to Italy under a train, while Inter, on a parallel flight, felt like they were masters of Italy. The Super Cup derby had ended 3-0 and it was clear that Milan had developed such a large inferiority complex. Between 2023 and 2024 he lost six derbies in a row and Stefano Pioli, in those nine hours of football, left behind the two dearest things he had, family aside: the unconditional love of the AC Milan fans and the bench. Riyadh 2025 says the opposite: Milan followed up on Fonseca’s derby and are now not only free from the complex, but command the city’s psychology. How did this happen?
TACTICAL CHOICES
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The most visible explanation is tactical. Milan today is a different team. Pioli often chose to play man to man – it’s his football – and to be aggressive, going after Inter in their half of the pitch. Only once did he jibe hard, in that February 2023 derby played with Messias as midfielder and Origi aiming in a hyper-defensive 3-5-2. He limited the damage (1-0 for Inter) but Milan was passive, unrecognizable, infinitely far from its history as an offensive and creative team. Fonseca and Conceiçao have explored other avenues, each in their own way. They know that Inter are very comfortable against teams that play to man, as Gasperini can explain, as long as he isn’t too angry. Fonseca chose the two strikers and surprised with calculated aggression. Conceiçao was more conservative but in the second half he changed the game with Loftus-Cheek for Reijnders and especially Abraham for Musah. The two strikers, them again. The great constants of Inter’s victories are no longer seen: no more restarts to even men, no more half-wingers attacking the defensive line freely, no more goals from corners.
A NEW GROUP
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Psychology follows. In the sixteen months of an inferiority complex, Milan went through its worst phase: absent-minded stars, new signings to be brought in, some lost leadership. Inter are a concrete team and in those months they went from strength to strength, reaching the Champions League final, which could forever remain the pinnacle of the Inzaghi era. Difficult to stop it for a team that was losing security. This Milan, on the other hand, seems more suited to fighting. Theo and Leao, its stars, played a great match and this changes everything. Some starters – Fofana, Morata, Jimenez, Emerson Royal – have not even experienced the season of the six derbies and cannot have complexes. Others, from Pulisic to Reijnders, only crossed it in the final part. This helps.
MILAN: RESISTANCE
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In recent months, Milan has also built an uncommon ability to withstand the impact. The old derbies had a consolidated script: Inter conceded a goal, thanks and goodbye. And Milan? Never capable of overturning the field, more often overwhelmed by the wave. Everything has changed. In the championship, Gabbia made it 2-1 at the end. In the Super Cup, Conceiçao even achieved a double comeback, like in that epic derby between Seedorf and Kakà: from 0-2 to 3-2. Here’s another answer to that question: to beat Inter you have to resist their blows, which sooner or later come, and respond. At that point, she concedes something.
INTER: LESS HUNGRY
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The last answer is linked to Inter. Milan overturned Milan also because Inter is less Milanese: it is no longer the team that works ten hours a day with the hunger of those who want to arrive. During matches she is sometimes absent, she starts slowly like in Riyadh, sometimes she looks around absentmindedly like the tourists at the Duomo. It’s clear that they were unlucky – Thuram injured, Calhanoglu out early – but they have to find themselves in something. At the next derby he will have something to redeem: if there is an opportunity to demonstrate, this is it.
SEVEN DERBY
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Riad has written his sentence, now it’s time for the future. Can the complex be overturned? Can Milan aim for a counter-attack, with five or six games won in a row? Calm. The certainty is that there will be no shortage of opportunities, because the Milan derby could become one of the themes of 2025. In the meantime, we’ll meet again soon: 2 February, return derby at San Siro, home to Milan. Then, come the conditionals. Inter-Milan could return to the semi-finals of the Italian Cup, the only round in two games. To get there, everyone has their own Roman team to beat in the quarterfinals: Roma for Milan, Lazio for Inter. And sensationally, the old derby could also appear without knocking in the Champions League, like two years ago, not in the round of 32 but in the round of 16. There is a risk of a season of 7 derbies in 7 dates: more than football, a combination of SuperEnalotto.
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