Beyond the emotions, Inter-Milan will also be a hard-fought match: here are 4 areas of the pitch where the two coaches will try to make the difference
In 2023 Milan celebrated 4 derbies, all won by Inter: 7-0 overall. But Milan, having become big and big, today wants to make a change. Where is the victory? Four areas of the pitch to pay attention to.
seaport
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The rectangle between the midfield line and the Nerazzurri defense is a seaport. Pioli wants his players to continually land us, starting from the midfielders. Last season (4-2-3-1), the coach raised Tonali or Bennacer alongside Diaz. In this (4-3-3) he pushes Loftus-Cheek and Reijnders into the spaces between Giroud and the two wingers. The two new signings have power and offensive technique to hurt. It is the real novelty of this derby: thanks to the kilos and centimeters purchased on the market, Milan is now of the same displacement as Inter. In that sea port, Pioli also wants the full-backs who accelerate through the central streets to disembark. By crowding the rectangle, he will force Inter to choose: will the midfielders or the arms be the ones to take on the attackers? Getting defenders out means opening spaces for Pulisic and Leao. An area of great strategic value also for pressing, which is more physical and therefore more effective. In Istanbul, Guardiola explained: “It’s difficult to go and catch Inter, because Onana dribbles very well.” Without Onana, Pioli expects to have an easier life.
maicon dumfries
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Dumfries at Maicon: 5 assists and a goal, between Inter and Holland. And Dimarco is no exception. Inzaghi will focus hard on his arrows and will try to free them by taking advantage of the numerical superiority in the midfield. Example: Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan embroider on the left and attract Milan a lot, then Bastoni, who is easy to launch, passes to the opposite side and frees Dumfries’ run in open spaces. Dumfries vs Theo is a scream. Pioli knows well that the midfield 3 is exposed to Inzaghi’s fifths. To avoid risks, Milan will have to press hard in the area of the ball, so as not to allow easy changes of play and slide laterally with timing, to plug the holes when the pass has started.
free leao
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Milan also has a strong lateral thinker: Leao, who scored with two goals and an assist the last derby Milan won, 3-2 in September 2022. Leao dribbled past bunches of Inter fans. Pioli’s idea is to take the pressure off him. As? With Pulisic, off to a good start. Milan no longer has a tactical wing (Saelemaekers, Messias). This year he is also hammering on the right, with Pulisic and, soon, with Chukwueze. Inter will have to move defensive troops to stop the American and, in these maneuvers, Leao hopes to gain space and freedom, assisted by Theo: the golden chain.
the bull charges
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Inter’s luxury is Lautaro Martinez: 5 goals in the last 5 derbies won by Inter. He is the top scorer of the tournament: 5 goals, ahead of Giroud (4). The two were on the field in the final of the last World Cup. Among the areas to pay attention to, Lautaro’s clods cannot be missing, also because he will attack a defense in an emergency: Tomori disqualified, Kalulu injured. At the center of the fort there will be the young Thiaw (22 years old) and the old Kjaer (34), making his first start in this championship after a difficult season and pre-season. In the derby of February 2023, Lautaro left him on the ground and flew to score the match-winning goal. Loftus-Cheek and Reijnders bring weight and height, but do not have strong defensive aptitudes. Lautaro has lost the wisdom of Dzeko and the strength of Lukaku, but Thuram knows how to play both roles. A novelty that is not easy to read for Pioli’s defense. The last decisive area lies beyond the chalk line: the bench. Here Pioli can draw the wildcard (Okafor? Chukwueze? Jovic?), Inzaghi much more: two wingers that he didn’t have before (Cuadrado, Carlos Augusto) to keep the pressure high on the flank and a Frattesi who has already enchanted San Siro in blue and can bite a midfielder born more to build than to destroy.
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