I believe in fate, I believe in destiny, and after this match, I believe in miracles. Milan beat Inter 2-1 to claim the Derby della Madonnina. Coming into this match, I, like every Milan fan I know, expected the worst. But the players knew how much this match meant. They knew what was at stake, and they did not want to become a part of a historic seventh straight Derby loss. Fonseca's tactical tweaking certainly helped with both effectiveness and confidence, and he also tried some extra morale boosting. Instead of benching key players, he reportedly planned a barbecue on Friday for the players, and placed a special message in the players' lockers ahead of the match. But perhaps the biggest motivator was the cardboard star Inter put on their kits after celebrating their last win at our home Derby in April. Or maybe it was the desperate-for-attention social media post of a certain former Milan player who now plays for Inter, but cannot stop talking about us. Despite one of the worst starts to a Milan season in decades, this win was written in the stars.
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| Redemption. |
Inter's goalkeeper, Sommer, was immediately and repeatedly called into action with attacks from Morata and Pulisic. But he was unable to stop Pulisic's second chance in just the 10th minute, as the American singlehandedly dribbled through the Inter defense, shot, and scored (with Calhanoglu simply not able to catch him.) 1-0 Milan. And he shushed the Inter fans, too, it was so amazing. This was definitely not going to be another Derby like the last six.
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| The passion of the Derby. |
Inter found out that this was not the same Milan in more ways than one when Bastoni tried to bully Pulisic in the 13th minute, shoving him after some incidental contact. He was immediately face to face with Morata and Abraham, who physically reminded him to pick on someone his own size. I loved that two of our newest players immediately stood up for our player, without worrying about the consequences. In last September's Derby, our new players wilted under the pressure, and were ineffective, but this year, our new players stepped up and made a difference.
Milan's most blatant error was seized upon in the 28th minute, when Dimarco scored the equalizer. 1-1 all. That didn't change Milan's determination, though. Or their fight. Like when Bastoni was tussling with Pulisic again, they were down, and Pulisic took the chance to give him an extra little body slam while he was down. Maignan was called into action in the 34th minute, and Fofana earned Milan's singular yellow card in the 38th minute for a foul on Dumfries. But that was nothing compared to the four yellows shown to Inter players. Clearly, Oaktree cut off Marotta's budget for paying the referees.
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| Maignan proved immense once again with a couple of big saves. |
Inter pressed a little harder, and Milan struggled a bit toward halftime. Maignan made a massive save on Thuram in the 42nd minute, while Dimarco slammed the rebound into the side netting. Inter started getting frustrated, with the racist Acerbi whacking Leão in the face with his arm, and Dumfries just shoving Maignan over, neither getting a card.
Milan came out even more fired up, with Emerson Royal sending in a cross for Leão to head it, but Sommer managed a great save. Just a minute later, as Tammy Abraham was running in on goal, Sommer fouled him on his follow through as he cleared the ball – studs into the shins, so painful. The play was VAR reviewed but the contact was not intentional, and there was no call, despite Abraham needing some treatment. There was the classic Theo vs. Dumfries matchup, and Pavard was actually called for a foul for sliding into Leão in the 59th.
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| Taking it to the next level. |
Calhanoglu was rendered completely impotent the entire match, with only one shot that I can remember that didn't have any power behind it. He seemed surprised by both the skills and the physicality of this Milan side. Maybe he should have spent more time watching the matches and less time talking smack. Inter did make a couple of efforts, but Gabbia provided a perfect tackle and Maignan pushed away another ball. At the other end, though, Reijnders forced Sommers into a save that he barely made. Then a bit of controversy, as Mariani awarded Milan a penalty for a Lautaro Martínez handball. But again, Di Paolo in the VAR booth stepped in and the penalty was waived off.
Inzaghi earned his token yellow card in the 68th minute. Leão sent a ball over in between two shots on target that Sommer saved. Maignan made another huge save in the 72nd minute on Lautaro Martinez. But then Milan were back in attack, with Tammy Abraham sending a shot just wide. Fonseca finally made his first substitutions in the 78th minute, replacing Pulisic and Morata with Okafor and Loftus-Cheek, respectively. Then he subbed Chukwueze on for Leão in the 87th minute.
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| Fierce. |
The tension was so high. Just when I resigned myself to a draw, in the 89th minute, the miracle happened. Reijnders sent in a beautiful ball for Gabbia, who headed it home. 2-1 Milan. The lifelong Milanista and Milan youth product celebrated as only a homegrown player does – with passion and intensity befitting a Derby-winning goal. After having lost six straight Derbies. It was magical.
There was a bit of concern when Emerson Royal clashed heads, and a final substitution in the 92nd minute of Pavlović on for Tammy Abraham. But at the final whistle, Milan won. 2-1. The Milan fans in the stadium, a mere fraction compared to the home crowd of Inter supporters, went crazy as the team celebrated with such immense joy, it was beautiful. Finally, the players could go to the Curva and truly be proud of not only the result, but their performance.
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| They could not contain their joy. |
Reijnders was awarded Serie A's Player of the Match, while the Milan fans, of course, voted for Gabbia as Most Valuable Player. Both absolutely deserved. The pressure was relieved from Fonseca, even if I am very wary of him remaining at Milan. Planning a barbecue and putting poorly translated notes in lockers does not make up for his very rough start, and his new tactical plan with two strikers is not sustainable with the players we have. But in that moment, it was just pure bliss. Not only had we finally won a Derby again, but we had averted conceding that awful record to those snakes.
Even more delicious was the snarky coreo from the Curva Sud. Using common memes and statements from Interisti as well as a large image of Leonardo Di Caprio from "The Great Gatsby," the series of banners read: "Today the North will surprise us: 'Milanisti, you go crazy, 6 derbies won!!' 'Never been in B!' '2 stars!' These people think they are the Ultras, but then you collide with reality. The eternal joke of the city." After their prolific celebrations in April for their cardboard Scudetto at our home Derby, it was nice to celebrate them being the eternal joke of the city in front of their home fans.
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| Inter, the eternal joke of the city. |
Everything since has been a blur of smiles, celebrating, and re-watching clips and highlights for me. Looking at pictures, just enjoying that Milano is Rossonera again. Finally. And doubly so, after the Primavera had also won their Derby. After all the hell of the past two years, this was a bit of redemption. Inter were reminded that they are just a meme, and Milan were reminded of who they can be. I am not naive enough to believe that our problems are solved and our season is perfect from now on. I don't even believe that we will necessarily keep winning. But for both where we are and where we've been, this was definitely one of those matches to remember, one that was written in the stars.
Milan Primavera Win Their Derby 3-1 Over Inter
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| Our Primavera are painting Milano red. |
Ahead of the big Derby, the Primavera set the mood by defeating Inter's Primavera side 3-1 in their Derby. The joy began with an 18th minute header from Duțu, followed by another fantastic strike from Maximilian Ibrahimović, on his birthday. Inter pulled one back, but then conceded a penalty, which Bonomi converted in the 45+3' minute to make it 3-1 just before halftime. Brief highlights are available. The Primavera's season is going the best of the men's teams, as they sit second on the table behind Roma with 12 points in five matches.
Bonera's Milan Futuro Lose 1-0 to Rimini
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| Milan Futuro just can't get that first league win. |
Milan Futuro now have just two points in five matches, sitting in 19th place in Group B of Serie C, after losing yet another match, this time a 1-0 loss to Rimini. Highlights of the match are available.
Initially, I argued that this was a new project, they are a new team, they are young and playing in a new league against adults, etc. However, our players have the highest value by far of any team in Serie C. And as a reference point, Abate's Ternana side sit top of the table in Group B, even though Bonera's Futuro squad has a value six times higher than Ternana's. Five matches is pretty early, but this is definitely something to start being concerned about. Truly a shame that the club burned the bridges with Abate.
This post inspired by the music of Lush's "Ladykillers"