There was so much hope for Milan fans ahead of this Derby.
Inter had just crashed out of the Europa League, they were divided amongst
themselves, their star striker throwing a massive diva hissy fit and refusing
to play, and key players were injured and missing. It seemed like the perfect
time to strike. And indeed, it was, only for Inter, not Milan. Because
Milan had been lulled into complacency over a ten match unbeaten streak, with
good results masking poor performances. And with all of the drama of the pyrotacular
coreo, social media, and stadium hype, it seemed that Milan winning was a foregone
conclusion. But instead, it was too hot to handle for this team, and Milan
found themselves incinerated.
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| A result that matched their performance |
It became clear very early on that Milan were not going to
have their way with Inter on this day. In the third minute, Vecino opened up
the scoring, 1-0 Inter. Like a slap in the face, it should have helped Milan
wake up, but it didn’t, really. Paqueta had a shot forcing a Handanovic save,
then Bakayoko and Gagliardini had a collision of heads that left the former
quite dazed and the latter quite bloody. The scrappy and attacking Inter play
that seemed to daze and confuse the Milan players continued throughout the
half. Although Milan were able to get a few shots off, they were pressed by
Inter for 45 minutes.
The second half started off with a sub from Gattuso. You
read that correctly, he brought on Castillejo for Paqueta, which was both bold
by him and still a little confusing. I can only assume Paqueta was not 100%,
because he brought far more to the table in the first half than Castillejo did
in the second. Even more confusing when, not long afterward, in the 51st
minute, De Vrij headed in a goal to make it 2-0 Inter.
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| An epic battle on the night, Bakayoko definitely got the better of Gagliardini |
In the 57th, though down two goals, it felt like Milan were
winning after Bakayoko, the walking wounded, scored his first Milan goal to
make it 2-1 Inter. His header was brilliant, well worth the wait, and helped to
take a little bit of steam out of Inter’s game. With Milan controlling the game
more, Gattuso followed that up with a second sub in the 58th. Yes, two subs
even before the 60th. You’d think that he was the one with the head injury.
Especially because he sacrificed Rodriguez to bring on Cutrone. He obviously
was hungry for goals.
One of his subs, Castillejo, made his mark on the match with
a clumsy foul in the area in the 65th which saw Inter warded with a penalty,
and inspired our captain to earn a yellow for dissent. Ouch. Even more painful
when Martinez stepped up and converted it to make it 3-1 Inter. The knots in my
stomach were going to make me vomit at this point.
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| The man |
But Gattuso, fearless in his newfound early and tactically
diverse subbing, brought on Conti for Kessie as if it was nothing. All three
subs used before he usually even makes one sub! It really was a big game. It
became a big controversy, too, as Kessie and Biglia got into a spat on the
bench, with Kessie having to be restrained by Abate and Rodriguez to keep him
from physically attacking Biglia. Both players apologized profusely, stating
they do not have a problem with each other, but for Gattuso, he took it as hard
as the actual defeat and insisted that he will be talking with both players
this week.
At least Gattuso’s subs paid dividends, though, as with the
fresh legs and a determined Milan, (where were they they first half?) Musacchio
scored a rebound in the 71st to make it 3-2 Inter. We were back in it. Musacchio
must have been so relieved after the VAR review ruled that the goal stood, because
in
the Derby in October, he also scored a goal that was called off for
offside after a review.
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| Musacchio gives a worried look to the linesman, hoping his goal stands |
Perhaps the most shocking moment of the game was in the 89th
minute. Conti fouled Vecino, and Guida showed him a straight red for the
challenge. That wasn’t really the shocking part, because it’s easy to see how
to the naked eye, within play, it looked like Conti intentionally went for
Vecino’s knee with his studs up, which would be dangerous play. However, Guida
used VAR to review the play, and after looking at it over and over like we did,
he saw that it was not intentional, it was his trailing leg that made the
contact. Then he did something I have never seen in my life: He rescinded
the red card. That’s right, a red card was rescinded. You
have to know that never happens, the red card is set in stone once it is shown.
Guida rightfully showed Conti a yellow instead. To make it even more
entertaining, Spalletti was incensed that the card was rescinded, and got himself
sent off.
Probably because Inter brought on the legendary Ranocchia in
stoppage time, Milan were not able to draw level or overcome the deficit.
Cutrone had a shot in the final minute of stoppage time that should have gone
in, but D’Ambrosio sacrificed his body to keep it out. After a very
disappointing first half from Milan, and a fiery, true-to-derby-style second
half, Inter took the three points, took back third place, and killed the dreams
of Milanisti everywhere.
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| At least we won the coreo... again |
If you watched the last few Milan games, the poor
performance was not surprising, only disappointing. Gattuso and his boys were
spot on to say that form meant nothing in a derby, and they embodied that
prediction with their performance. Inter let their Europa League exit, tired
legs, missing players, and Wanda/Icardi drama fuel them into taking all three
points. Now Milan have to stave off the many teams battling for fourth, while
licking their wounds and sorting out the performance issues over the upcoming
International Break. It was only one game, but it was a crucial one. Perhaps
all of the hype just left them too combustible, and that’s why we were
incinerated.
This post inspired by the music of
Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”
Stay tuned for an all new Milan Obsession Podcast