How Inter upsets Milan’s resurgence

The Derby della Madonnina is always one of the most anticipated matches in Serie A. The 170^th league meeting between AC Milan and Inter would have a big impact on who will qualify for the Champions League next season.

Milan came into this match on the rise while Inter have watched the wheels come off over the past few weeks. In the first meeting this season, Inter won the match 1-0 thanks to a 92^nd minute goal by club captain Mauro Icardi. Much has been written about Icardi, and a wife called Wanda, so we will refrain from covering it in this tactical analysis. Instead we will just say that much has changed.

During that first match, in the Nerazzuri technical area Luciano Spalletti was being hailed for revitalising the side, while Gennaro Gattuso appeared to be updating his LinkedIn profile on the Milan bench. But since then, they appear to have swapped roles. After the early struggles, Milan entered this game unbeaten in the past 10 league matches while Inter had just crashed out of the UEFA Europa League to Eintracht Frankfurt in disappointing fashion.

This was an extremely entertaining derby match, which isn’t always the case. Inter were able to come back from all their recent turmoil to secure a 3-2 victory, with Spalletti setting his side up well. Inter were able to starve Milan’s lethal new striker of service, causing Gattuso to make changes in the second half to get his side back into the match, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an effective performance by Inter.

Lineups

Gattuso made four changes to the side that continued their terrific run of form with a 2-1 victory away to Chievo Verona. Gianluigi Donnarumma continued in goal, with two changes to the defensive line. Ricardo Rodriguez returned from suspension at left-back, while Davide Calabria got the start at right-back.

This meant Andrea Conti and Diego Laxalt dropped to the bench. Chelsea loanee Tiemoue Bakayoko started in the midfield three, replacing Lucas Biglia. The front three consisted of former Liverpool winger Suso, high-flying striker Krzysztof Piatek and Hakan Çalhanoglu, who returned to the starting lineup.