The two teams showed up to the very important match of Serie A with different moods. Inter were enthusiastic, coming off the draw obtained, in the UEFA Champions League, in the away match against the very fearsome Manchester City. Disastrous instead for AC Milan who, in addition to the home defeat suffered in the international field against Liverpool, also have to convince their fans due to collective performances that have been very disappointing so far.
In any case, the Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez returned to the starting lineup for Inter, looking for his first goal of the season. Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco then returned to their respective flanks. For the Rossoneri, coach Paulo Fonseca made courageous choices: Matteo Gabbia in defense while Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham played from the start in attack.
First Half: AC Milan Starts Well, Inter Finishes Better
At the start of the match, both teams started with a certain aggressiveness. However, it was the Rossoneri who were more pungent, so much so that they found the net for the lead, in the 10th minute, thanks to an enterprising individual play by the American ace Pulisic who took the ball away from his opponent Henrikh Mkhitaryan and then headed towards the penalty area, avoiding the opponents' tackles, and arriving in front of the opposing goalkeeper who beat him with a clever touch that took away his intervention time.
The Neroazzurri reacted immediately with two actions. First with a shot by Lautaro Martinez and then with an attempt by the Dutch winger Dumfries. In the 27th minute, it was Federico Dimarco who found the equaliser for Inter. The left winger took advantage of the great work created by his teammate Lautaro Martinez who broke free from the marking and served an assist with which his teammate found himself one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, not wasting the opportunity.
After the goal, the Neroazzurri gave the impression of managing the ball better by pressing their opponents into their own defensive area of the pitch. Towards the end of the first half, the Neroazzurri created a great opportunity to find the lead with a quick exchange between their attacking duo which led to a low shot from French striker Marcus Thuram
On this shot, goalkeeper Mike Maignan made an amazing intervention, making yet another save in his start to the season. A beautiful first half thus ended with the score at 1-1.
Second half: AC Milan deservedly earned the victory
At the start of the second half, the Rossoneri immediately had a chance with a cross from full-back Emerson Royal and a subsequent header from Rafael Leao that was neutralized by a great save from Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Shortly after, a great defensive intervention by Matteo Gabbia was recorded, thus preventing Subsequently, there was a splendid action by Rafael Leao who created numerical superiority from the left flank, then moved to the center and served an excellent ball to teammate Tijiani Reijnders whose conclusion was parried for a corner by Sommer.
Inter returned to create a chance again with their striker and captain Lautaro Martinez whose acrobatic shot was parried by the attentive Maignan. From this point in the match, the Rossoneri were the ones to be preferred in terms of perseverance and fluidity of play.
In this sense, two great opportunities were wasted. First with an initiative by Rafael Leao that was blocked by a great intervention by Sommer, and then with a chance badly wasted by the English striker Tammy Abraham, served in depth by Reijnders, who kicked out despite being alone in front of the opposing goalkeeper.
In the 89th minute, AC Milan found the net for the deserved lead with a powerful header by defender Matteo Gabbia who thus positively capitalized on the notable pass made, from a free kick, by the Dutchman Reijnders.
In the last minute of the match, the Rossoneri also had the opportunity to extend their lead, taking advantage of the imbalance of the Inter players in search of a desperate equalizer, with a counterattack badly wasted by the substitute Noah Okafor.
Final conclusions
Thus ended a vibrant and intense match that brought the Rossoneri back to victory after six consecutive defeats suffered in the last matches. With this victory, AC Milan rose to eight points in the standings, thus reaching their derby rivals who did not obtain the victory for the second consecutive match.