Milan and Inter, tour de force. And on 18 January and 5 February two derbies

There is a date that returns. February 5th. Championship derby, again, like last season.

What happened a year ago is history: Giroud turned around, overturned Inter and brought his side closer to the Nerazzurri, with only one point to recover from the leaders, momentarily +7 at half-time thanks to Perisic’s advantage. An important step on the way to the Rossoneri Scudetto. In just over a month, on the same day, she will be in the city again, at the Nerazzurri’s home. But before getting there, the two Milanese will have a busy calendar, a challenging tour de force after the long break for the World Cup. And among the commitments, there will be another derby, that of the Super cup.

COMMITMENTS

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After 53 days without official matches, before the derby both Inter and Milan will have seven (or eight, in the event of a qualifying round in the Italian Cup) in less than a month. With a lot of travel to Saudi Arabia for another derby, that of the Super Cup, scheduled for January 18 at 8 pm Italian time, 10 pm local time. The question arises: are the two teams ready to face such a busy and demanding schedule? It starts in a few days, on January 4: Milan visits Salernitana at 12.30, Inter hosts Napoli in the big match at 20.45.

HERE MILAN

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The Italian champions arrive at the resumption of the championship with three knockouts in as many friendlies, after the 3-2 against Lumezzane on 8 December in Milan: 1-2 with Arsenal, 1-4 with Liverpool, 0-3 with PSV. The calendar presents Roma on 8 January after the encore-debut with Salernitana: will Giroud and Theo Hernandez – who returned to Milanello yesterday – be ready for the double commitment? The 9 was missed against PSV, Rebic started from the beginning but didn’t make an impact. Then there is the goalkeeper issue: without Maignan, neither Tatarusanu nor Mirante offer guarantees. In short, the unknowns are more than one. And the schedule doesn’t help: after the first two league games, the Diavolo will have Turin in the Italian Cup on November 11 and Lecce on the 14th before the Super Cup. Then Lazio (24/1), Sassuolo (29/1) and eventual Cup quarter-finals, between 31 January and 1 February.

HERE INTER

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Same number of commitments for Inter between now and the derby on 5 February, with clearly the variable of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup. Net of the gap in the standings (-3 from their cousins), the Nerazzurri seem to be better at resuming the championship. If it is true that the friendlies have been less challenging than those of Milan (draw against Betis, victories against Reggina and Sassuolo), it is also true that the returns of Lukaku and Brozovic, as well as a post-World Cup charged Lautaro, give a good boost . But Napoli on matchday one is a delicate test: in the event of a negative result, Inter would be out of the Scudetto race. A sort of challenge from inside or out, immediately cold. Not the best. A victory, on the contrary, would launch the nerazzurri, who are then engaged with Monza in the league (on 7/1), with Parma in the Italian Cup (on 10/1) and Verona in Serie A (on 14/1). After the Super Cup, Inter will have Empoli (23/1) and Cremonese (28/1). The post-Napoli calendar presents opponents on paper who are affordable in the league. The countdown to February 5, on both sides of the Naviglio, has started. But beware: the road is long. Are Milan and Inter ready for the tour de force after the long break?