Inter-Milan: Nerazzurri in great shape, the Devil is looking for the feat

Inzaghi arrives in the return match with 7 wins in a row and a 2-goal lead. Pioli with Rafa pursues Istanbul and the future

Inter, who lived through May 5, 2002, and Milan, who lived through Istanbul 2005, know that even the most announced destinies can be torn apart and rewritten. A derby, then, par excellence, is the land of the unpredictable and of impossible predictions. Simone Inzaghi, after the 2-0 win in the first leg, has a ticket to Istanbul in his pocket. It’s worth nothing if you can’t stamp it tonight. Stefano Pioli, who has a religious faith in his boys, is deeply convinced that he can turn the omelette upside down. The air will be electric, the match hot.

little devil

Having said that the story is still to be written, it must however be recognized that this eve was profoundly different from that of the first leg. The gap has widened, Inter’s serene sentiments have detached themselves from Milan’s livid feelings. The Devil had presented himself in the first leg of the semi-final surfing the convincing victory (2-0) over Lazio, after two gray draws (Roma, Cremonese). Leao was injured against Sarri, but the team’s reaction to his exit after 10′ was proud and strong. Theo, a great goal, had filled Rafa’s void and led the crew. The Devil intended to prolong that reaction in the derby, to make up for the absence of the Portuguese totem and to overturn the prediction as he had done in the quarterfinals against Napoli, counting on the Champions League-friendly air that the Devil knows how to breathe better than the others. Instead they lost the first semifinal more than when they say 2-0. Impalpable Hernandez, long, soft and blunt team. The defeat in La Spezia further poisoned the air: another 0-2; another goal conceded from a corner after 104 corners in which Milan had conceded nothing; still long and blunt team; again Theo disappointing. In addition, the disconcerting final theater with the ultras preaching from the pulpit and the Rossoneri listening below, heads bowed. A liturgy that may have united the Devil with his people, but it certainly demonstrated the fragility of the group.

inter force 7

Inter, who were 2 points away a week ago, are now 5 away. The Nerazzurri environment has a completely different lightness, after the 7 victories lined up, with 21 goals scored and 3 conceded and, above all, after the three derbies won in the season, without conceding a goal, which allow Inter to take the field with a feeling of superiority that can be intimidating. Just as Inzaghi’s attack intimidates: Lautaro, Lukaku, Dzeko have scored 14 goals in the last 7 in the league, against 2 by Leao alone. If a week ago, the scales of the derby were essentially even, now the prediction hangs entirely on the side of Inter, for what we have said and for the advantage of 2 goals to defend in a stadium with a Nerazzurri majority.

role swap

There has been a curious double switch of roles. Until not too long ago, Milan were the team of the game and Inter that of the players. Pioli won a surprise championship, thanks to a collective maneuver, educated for three years, which improved the value of the individuals. Recent Inter has often been identified with the quality of its solo players, starting with Lu-La who branded Conte’s Scudetto. Today Milan must cling to its stars (Leao, Theo) because they have lost the strength of the game: they are no longer able to be short, compact, aggressive; he is no longer able to gather around the ball and fill the area of ​​others. The last two games without scoring a goal have certified it. Inter are playing better today. Inzaghi derailed the Nerazzurri from the rigid rails of a predictable maneuver and drew more liquid lines of play. Simone, who has grown a lot, tore up the label of “team for counterattacks” and, in Rome, sent Dimarco into goal after 50 consecutive passes. Until not too long ago, Pioli “on fire”, hero of an impossible Scudetto, was indisputable, while Inzaghi looked like a dead coach walking, also targeted by friendly fire. Now, candy and promises of the future are being shot at Inzaghi, who has won a cup and is aiming for two, while the “Pioli out” bounces on social media, with the fickle hysteria typical of the soccer circus. The “Pioli on fire” evolved into “Pioli fired”, exonerated. But can you challenge a coach who in two years brought a Scudetto and a Champions League semi-final, with a squad not equipped for these heights? A technician who has improved every young man he has worked on and who has kept the environment connected in the fords and in the hiding of the properties? However, Pioli knows that much more is being played tonight than access to a final. Inzaghi knows it too and Milan and Inter know it: the future passes at San Siro tonight, destiny passes.

leao at the cr7

Why does Pioli believe it against the odds? Because he has already won a Scudetto against the wind and because he recovers Leao who took out Napoli almost by himself. The last derby won by Milan marked him with a brace. To transform a 2-0 in the Champions League into a 3-0 in the second leg (Juve-Atletico Madrid) was another Portuguese: CR7. Only once in the history of the Champions League has a semi-finalist defeated by 2 or more goal difference progressed to the second leg: Liverpool. From 0-3 to 4-0: Origi scored 2 of those 4 goals. Signals, such as Maignan’s save on Dzeko who avoided the 3-0 in the first leg and recalls Abbiati’s calf who rejected Kallon in 2003. Milan is counting on history and on the friendly tournament. Serene Inter, with no training problems, bet on the wind in their sails, but know that if the attitude is wrong, the derby becomes a stormy sea. It’s a moment. Milan has the desperate strength of the shipwrecked. He wants to stay afloat.

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