It was a dramatic Derby della Madonnina, as Stefan de Vrij’s own goal cancelled out a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, while Ciprian Tatarusanu saved Lautaro Martinez’s spot-kick, with Nicolò Barella and Alexis Saelemaekers going incredibly close.
This was not only a local clash, but also a Scudetto showdown between joint first and third, while Hakan Calhanoglu faced his former club for the first time since crossing the city as a free agent over the summer.
Theo Hernandez was suspended, with Alessio Romagnoli, Mike Maignan, Samu Castillejo, Junior Messias and Alessandro Plizzari injured. Stefano Pioli opted to use Rade Krunic and Brahim Diaz together, dropping Alexis Saelemaekers.
It was a dramatic start to the match, as Franck Kessie intercepted a pass for Edin Dzeko, but then turned into trouble and got into a tangle with Calhanoglu, the referee awarding a penalty, although it wasn’t entirely clear who had bundled into who. Calhanoglu insisted on taking the spot-kick himself, blasting it through the centre and wildly celebrating against his old club in front of the Curva Sud.
Rafael Leao tested Samir Handanovic from distance, then Milan equalised as Sandro Tonali’s free kick was for Fikayo Tomori, but instead Stefan de Vrij got the touch to nod into his own net.
There were dramatic scenes when Fode Ballo-Toure got into a complete mess, not realising where the ball or the man was, lunging in on Matteo Darmian and this time there were no doubts that was a penalty. Lautaro Martinez is the usual Inter spot-kick taker, so he stepped up, but Ciprian Tatarusanu made a sensational save at the near bottom corner.
Leao again stung Handanovic’s gloves, but Ballo-Toure made up for the penalty incident by performing a goal-line clearance to deny Nicolò Barella. Moments later, Lautaro Martinez prodded inches wide after a Dzeko knockdown.
Lautaro Martinez’s strike was deflected over the bar and Calhanoglu’s volley flashed all the way across the face of goal, skimming both the far post and Lautaro Martinez’s foot.
Barella went off with a slight muscular issue and Zlatan Ibrahimovic swung a strike just past the far top corner, while Arturo Vidal had two consecutive attempts charged down by Pierre Kalulu.
Inter began to take more control as the game wore on, but Ibrahimovic blasted a ferocious free kick through the wall and Handanovic had to parry at the near bottom corner.
That sparked a period of Milan pressure, Rebic’s flick on a corner at the near post hit Joaquin Correa’s arm, but it was flush with his body.
Alexis Saelemaekers in the final minute of normal time saw his daisy-cutter bounce off the base of the upright, but Kessie failed to turn in the rebound.
Milan 1-1 Inter
Calhanoglu pen 10 (I), De Vrij og 17 (M)
Saved penalty: Lautaro Martinez 27 (I)
Fair Result and the one I was hoping for.
Nice frantic start to the match. Both Inter PK’s were deserved. To think Kessie wants to make 2M more than the guy across the hall, Barella. Let him leave. Give space to an Italian. Looked like Martinez wanted to take the first PK but Çalhanoğlu really wanted to stick it to his former club. The match settled down in the 2nd Half. Inter dominating the first half the second 45 Minutes, while Milan went for the win in the last 25 Minutes.
BT Sport commentary (my broadcast) was OK but he said Darmian was ineffective so this is why he was replaced. Nevermind that Darmain won the first PK and when Dumfries came on, Inter dropped back and Milan were in the ascendency. Just an observation.
Anyhow, good Result for the other teams coupled with Napoli getting held by Verona.
Notwithstanding Napoli’s ridiculous playacting in this match. Only Lazio and Atalanta complicate matters with their wins. By and large a highly competitive Week ending with an enjoyable Posticipo.
Can we just get rid of Kessie!!! That was never a penalty but why on earth was he dilly dallying around the box just clear it and he had a glorious chance to win it the goal was gaping. Theo was sorely missed and Balo Toure committed a school boy mistake and will need to learn. We gave Inter too much space and respect. In the last 10 minutes we had them pinned and Pioli should be braver and bring on Giroud. No damage but we could have been 10 points clear. The ref was also a joke. Giving them any free kick and handball when Correa and Vidal also handled in the box. I guess Marotta and co have the VAR on lock down but they cry as soon as it is used against them.
Send Kessie packing. He wants more money fine go get it at another club. Doing Inter favours and playing around on the ball is not acceptable. He lost concentration full stop.
As a Milan fan I have to admit that both were penalties. The second one no doubt as Darmian confused Balo with some clever work. It is a pity that we could not find the second but shout out to Tomori who was a rock and Tatarusanu for the penalty save. Mistakes happen and Kessie has given a lot to us over the years. If he wants more money it would better to go to a club who can afford it. As long as he does cross the divide I am sure we can find alternatives.
I’m surprised that the first penalty decision is getting let off lightly, Cala knew exactly what he was doing, he managed to get his leg across and tripped Kessie, in real time I was waiting for the Milan free kick. The VAR took a long time and it would not have been overturned if the ref hadn’t given it. There’s a reason why there are so many pens in Serie A compared with the other big leagues at the moment.
I have to disagree with Davide though – there was no chance the Milan deserved a penalty when the balls hit Inter arms that were in natural positions.
Milan have given away most of the our goals conceded recently by keeping the ball too long in midfield or the defensive 3rd and hoping to win free kicks, so we really need to learn fast.
How are so many people saying the first penalty was correct when Cala clearly tripped Kessie first?
It was pretty obvious. It doesn’t necessarily change anything. Inter deserved at least a draw but Milan did also hit the post.
Definitely a point saved by Milan and 2 points dropped by Inter. I’ll take it. A draw between Inter and Napoli would be nice.
Shout out to Darmian a former youth team captain now playing for our direct rival. We need to learn from those mistakes especially with so many players attempting to hold the club to ransom on salaries. We need to reward loyalty.
@ Tom I agree with everything you’ve said especially about Milan giving the ball away in their own third. Both Kessie and Bennacer have been guilty. Tonali is the safer option there.
Why are some of the Milan fans moaning. Those 2 penalties were clear as day and we Interisti must thank Kessie as he was our best player. If you hold on to the ball too long you risk the chance and that is what happened. If you want to throw him under the bus I will gladly take him if Brozovic does not renew.
We need to just have one spot kick taker. I do not like this rotation method. Hakan should have taken the second one as well. Maybe next year Kessie will be our penalty taker he is good at them.
Exciting game, if lacking in real quality.
Inter the better side overall, though Milan pressed hard in the last 10 minutes. But at 80 min, Inter could have been 2 ahead.
Better result for Milan than Inter, though losing could have been a disaster for the blue half.
Has to be said, compared to this weekends Manchester derby, this weekends Milan derby was a lot more entertaining. Certainly not mid-2000’s quality but it did have excitement.
Certainly better than the snoozefest that was Inter vs Juve last month (as a Juve fan I have to admit this is due to Allegri admitting he doesn’t care if his teams play boring).
@Dangerboy…
I think we need to act like Maximus and pray to our ancestors.
Italy vs. Switzerland on Friday.
Insigne, Immobile, Chiesa with Berardi off the bench up front.
Unfortunately Kean is recovering.
We are at the Olimpico…Immobile’s home stadium. He tends to play well there. You also stated as much in another post.
I’m hopeful AND anxious…nothing can be taken for granted.
Thoughts?
So it seems as if Milan fans thinks they’ll win the league. Just like last season they were top of the table for most of the first half of the season. It also seems they’ll go out of the CL on purpose without even trying which could back fire big time. It was revealed at some point Conte actually instructed his players to play unattractive football without giving anything away because of the prize.
That is something I can not see Pioli would do so the possibility of dropping points against weaker opponents is far greater. The match ended with Inter creating 4 OPEN GOAL scoring opportunities against the Milan 1 in the final minutes of the match but still Milan fans believe they dominated. Again being 10+ points ahead after 12 matches is completely different from doing it in the last 5 matches. Credit to Inzaghi for making inter competitive despite losing key players it’s just a shame it was Lukaku who had to go instead of the overrated selfish Lautaro.
In 12 games so far, Milan have played all the BIG teams and remain unbeaten. What’s left to prove before some jealous fans know Milan deserve the scudetto this season.
All good vibes here until Solo Inter shows up. What a surprise.
Be thankful Milan only smacked the post and the followup was hit wide. Handanovic makes quite the impression of a statue.
Vittorio,
Like you, I would go with those 3 to start with Berardi off the bench. Berardi’s has scored in his last couple of matches so he is on form. We need his contribution.