Nothing doing. Cristian Chivu failed to deliver what he had promised the supporters, "A Monday at the office with no teasing." Today only barbers with a closed shop will be safe. Milan won the derby and extended their unbeaten run in the city clash after the five from last season, three of them wins.
Milan victory thanks to Pulisic and Maignan
Milan fans will walk into the office on Monday in party mode, because the win pushed them above their cousins and into second place, level with Napoli and two points behind Roma. Since Milan have already beaten both Napoli and Roma and will have weeks without cup matches, red and black hearts feel even more free to dream. Christian Pulisic scored the winning goal, after scoring a couple last season. The hero of the night was Mike Maignan. In Milan’s troubled first half, where they never hit the target, the keeper saved everything, including a miracle stop on Lautaro.
Goalkeepers decided the match. In the 29th minute of the second half, when Calhanoglu stepped up to the spot with his team down by a goal, he must have felt he was facing a giant guarding a hockey-sized goal. Maignan saved the penalty. The top of the league has the two best keepers, Svilar and Maignan. A coincidence? Sommer made a mistake on the goal. Milan suffered a lot, by design. Allegri shaped the team like this, able to resist and strike at the right moment. For the first time after 14 Serie A derbies, Milan kept a clean sheet. The steel defense, helped by a tireless Modric, earned as much credit as Maignan. Is it sustainable to always play on the break and risk dropping points against Cremonese, Parma, and Pisa? Time will tell. For now, Allegri enjoys it. His last Milan derby win was in August 2011. It was played in Beijing, against Gasperini’s Inter. Fourteen years later, both sides sit high again.
Inter - Milan: Head-to-heads.
Milan have won three big clashes, Napoli, Roma, Inter. Inter have lost three, Juventus, Napoli, Milan. Chivu has a lot to reflect on. Inter had not taken this many shots toward Milan’s goal in recent years, twenty in total, without scoring. Two posts, many chances, over sixty percent possession. Dominance means nothing if you take nothing home. This is not the first time. The sense of being stronger than the opponent, confirmed again yesterday, is pleasing and in the long run should pay off, but Chivu must find a way to turn so much quality into results. Lautaro, subbed off, Sommer, and Calhanoglu, penalty aside, fell short. In general, in the key moments this season and last, Inter have failed to show killer instinct.
Inter hit the woodwork. The expected script appeared: Inter controlling, Milan playing guerrilla football. Inter counter-press after losing the ball and stay high, Milan drop back and wait for waves of attacks. When Calhanoglu presses Modric, the Croatian rarely responds because he stays fixed in front of the defense. Milan forwards and midfielders disrupt Calhanoglu’s build-up. By the 20th minute, Inter already had 69 percent possession while moving the ball around the perimeter to free a cross or open lanes. In the 4th minute, Maignan tipped away Thuram’s header. In the 27th minute, the post sided with Milan, a Calhanoglu corner and Acerbi’s header rattled the upright. Ten minutes later came the best chance, stamped by the Thuram Lautaro link. Carlos Augusto crossed from the right, Thuram headed it back, and Lautaro struck, Maignan clawed it from the corner with lightning reflexes and pushed it onto the post. Inter dominated, built clean moves, and controlled the match. With sharper ball circulation and more aggression toward goal, the score would not have stayed level at the break. Milan refused to build from the back, instead aiming to run into the space that Inter opened by pushing forward. Vertical bursts at full speed. Pulisic was the most dangerous, making runs behind Leao, who was well tracked by Acerbi. The American produced Milan’s biggest scare for Sommer in the 44th minute, a diagonal burst and a sharp shot brushing the post. Milan recorded zero shots on target. Inter had two posts, two big chances, and four corners to zero. But the derby is long and Allegri likes to survive to strike later. And that is what happened, as pointed out by La Gazzetta dello Sport in this morning's print edition.
Minute 9 in the second half. Fofana took the ball from Calhanoglu in midfield and Allegri’s Milan, built for lightning transitions, reached goal in seconds. Saelemaekers shot diagonally, Sommer saved but kept the ball alive. Pulisic reacted faster than Ankanji and scored for 1–0. This was the match Allegri wanted. Leao and Rabiot broke into the open spaces. Barella, Inter’s best, tried to keep his team compact with his nonstop running. Chivu sent on Bonny for a flat Lautaro. Inter pushed hard and won a penalty after Pavlovic stepped on Thuram’s foot after the ball had gone. But facing Maignan this evening was tough. Calhanoglu’s right foot strike was full of fear and respect, and the Milan keeper swallowed it in the 29th minute. The save ignited the Curva Sud and pushed Milan to defend the win with intensity, concentration, and unity. Even Modric threw himself into tackles and clearances. Inter moved to a heavy attacking setup, a 4-2-4, but never broke through. Milan-supporting barbers are eager to open their shops tomorrow.
