AC Milan defeated Inter Milan 3-2 in an entertaining Serie A match at the San Siro on Saturday as Rafael Leao scored a brace for Milan (28′ and 60′) and Olivier Giroud added the third (54′).
Marcelo Brozovic had opened the scoring for Inter in minute 21 while Edin Dzeko narrowed the gap in minute 67, but I Nerazzurri could not find the equalizer.
With the win, Milan are now second in Serie A with 11 points from five matches, while Inter are sixth with 9 points.
Without further ado, here’s a look at three things that stood out in the match.
Both sides wasted chances in first half that ended 1-1
Milan started in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Inter opted for their customary 3-5-2. The first half started on an exciting note, with both teams launching threatening attacks and creating a few close calls.
Leao was active through the left flank from the very beginning and made a few runs down the left flank. Milan’s left back Theo Hernandez curbed his attacking instincts somewhat to stay in his own half to prevent the overlapping runs by Inter’s expeditious right back Denzel Dumfries.
Leao cut in from the left flank once to take a shot that was saved by Samir Handanovic. At the other end of the pitch, Brozovic’s shot from the edge of the penalty box narrowly missed the target. Then, Alessandro Bastoni almost scored an own goal while trying to clear Leao’s cross from the left, but the ball hit the crossbar.
Inter broke the deadlock as Brozovic made a good run through the middle to receive a nice through-pass from Joaquin Correa from near the half-line. The Croatian midfielder made no mistake in slotting home past Mike Maignan.
Milan answered rather quickly as Leao finished neatly into the far corner of the net from inside the penalty box. Leao had received the ball from Sandro Tonali, who intercepted a poor pass by Hakan Calhanoglu, a former Milan player. The exciting first half ended with the two teams sharing the spoils.
Milan surged ahead with a quick 1-2 courtesy of Leao and Giroud
Milan started the second half in great fashion, scoring a couple of goals within a space of 6 minutes. Leao was again instrumental, corraling a throw-in and playing a neat pass to Giroud who shot first time with his left foot to put Milan ahead.
Leao then scored his second by dodging a couple of Inter defenders after Giroud had played the ball down to him following a long pass. Leao thus marked an exceptional performance in the match with a couple of goals and an assist.
Those two goals left the Nerazzurri shell-shocked as they were staring at a second successive defeat in the Milan Derby (they lost 1-2 last season). Simone Inzaghi, the Inter coach, reacted instantly by making three substitutions. Federico Dimarco, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Edin Dzeko came in for Bastoni, Nicolo Barella and Correa, respectively, as Inter desperately tried to bounce back.
Inter reduced the deficit, but Milan held on to climb Serie A table
Inter’s substitutions worked soon after as Dzeko scored the 323rd goal of his career after receiving a cross from the left. Dezeko’s shot had hit the bar before going in.
The goal gave Inter a boost and they started attacking primarily through the left flank and the inside-left channel. As Junior Messias, Milan’s right-winger, was not contributing much defensively, Stefano Pioli decided to replace him with Alexis Saelemaekers.
Pioli also introduced Brahim Diaz to add steel to his midfield. As the match veered to an end, the Milan manager also introduced Simon Kjaer in place of Davide Calabria to strengthen the defense further.
The Milan players also succeeded in slowing down the game by playing a lot of passes among themselves. However, Inter came close to equalizing but a Calhanoglu shot was saved brilliantly by Maignan and a Mkhitaryan volley narrowly missed the target.
Milan could have increased their advantage from counter-attacks had the likes of Leao and Divock Origi been a bit more selfless in their approach. Instead of playing the ball to one another, they preferred taking shots. Still, the Rossoneri held onto the lead to secure 3 points from a highly entertaining match.