The past two seasons have seen Milan and Inter finish first and second in the league back to back for the first time ever, splitting the spoils. Except for Calhanoglu, of course, he lost both times. Last season, the first league Derby was a 1-1 draw, thanks to some creative refereeing, and Milan won the second Derby in February. However, the Coppa Italia matchups were a 0-0 draw and then a 3-0 loss to Inter, which loss inspired Milan to win the Scudetto, according to many of the Milan players. Inter's project of buying players they could literally not afford to pay contrasts sharply with Milan's project of sustainability, youth, and growth, and that contrast has only intensified the rivalry. Last season, Milan won the league with a wage bill that was nearly half of Inter's, and against all odds. This year, Milan want to put all controversy to bed and win their second star ahead of Inter. Milan have a score to settle.
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| Nevermind that 2 of this starting 11 are already injured, we are coming for you, Inter |
Inter are still upset at having lost the Scudetto to Milan last season, and they should be. They "magically" did not get a single red card last season, despite breaking Osimhen's face, amongst so many other brutal, brutal and glaring offenses, and Milan were literally robbed by the referees numerous times. Milan's wage bill was nearly half of theirs, our squad is much younger, less experienced, and we had far more injuries, too. They should be ashamed to show their faces in Milano for losing to a team that was picked ahead of the season to finish fifth.
Inter cleaned house this summer in an effort to lower their wage bill yet again, sending away players like Perisić, Alexis Sanchez, Vidal, and legendary goalkeeper Radu. Their big signing this summer was the return of Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. Other reinforcements include young talents Asllani and Bellanova, as well as backup keeper Onana, and coming in just this week on the last day of the window, former Milan defender and lifelong Milanista, Acerbi.
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| They may not be able to pay their players come January, but hey, they kept Skriniar |
Inter are coming off of a 3-1 win to Cremonese midweek. They have done well against the smaller teams, but in their one big test thus far away against Lazio, they lost 3-1. For their Cremonese match, the other Inzaghi lined up Handanović; Skriniar, de Vrij, Dimarco; Dumfries, Barella, Brozović, the Turkish Traitor, Darmian; Dzeko, and Correa. Inzaghi has almost a complete squad, minus Lukaku, who was too embarrassed to be the worst Belgian on the pitch in the Derby after Milan signed three new Belgians this summer, so is "injured."
Pioli has some actual injuries to deal with, as he is still without Ibrahimović and Krunić, and Rebić has not recovered in time for this one, either. Now he has Florenzi out for an undefined period of time with a serious muscle injury, as well. For that reason, at the last minute, Milan signed Sergiño Dest from Barcelona on loan with an option to buy to replace him. Additionally, this week, they added defender Malick Thiaw from Schalke, who signed a five year contract, and have loaned midfielder Aster Vranckx from Wolfsburg on loan with an option to buy.
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| Pioli emphasized the importance of De Ketelaere, training with new signing Thiaw |
Most notably, Milan had an official ownership change this week, although it was possibly the ownership change with the least drama in Serie A ever. The closing of the deal that saw Gerry Cardinale and RedBird Capital purchase the club from Elliott Management for €1.2 billion was made official on Wednesday. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that both Paul and Gordon Singer will be at the Derby as well as Gerry Cardinale, who will be presented to the fans as the new owner.
As far as Derby matches go, this one should be very tasty. Milan have dropped four points so far this season, but all away, in their tougher matches as well. This one is a home Derby. No cursed white kits for this one. As Pioli pointed out in his press conference, this should be a very balanced match, but Milan have the quality to win it. Once again, Inter have a higher wage bill with older, more experienced players on average, and should be favorites. But if last year taught us anything, it is to never count Milan out. Whatever we do not have on paper, we make up for in heart, grinta, and belief. And we need to get that 20th Scudetto and second star before Inter, too. This Derby, we want to prove for once and for all that all of the advantages in the world are not enough. We have a score to settle.
This post inspired by the music of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name"
Our next match is