Massimiliano Allegri has praised his AC Milan side for the way that they remained composed and organised in the derby win over Inter.
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Milan secured bragging rights for the second time this season as they completed a league double over the Serie A leaders Inter. The only goal of the game came in the first half and from the perhaps unlikely source of Pervis Estupinan, who fired into the top corner having made a run in behind.
A brilliant defensive effort then followed as the Rossoneri saw out yet another positive result in the derby. It means that the unbeaten run against the Nerazzurri is now at seven games, and the gap is reduced to seven points.
Allegri’s reaction to AC Milan 1-0 Inter
Allegri spoke to DAZN after the full-time whistle at San Siro to offer his analysis on another resolute big-game performance from his side in a season that has been full of them. His words were transcribed by MilanNews.
The last time Milan won two derbies in a season, you were on the bench. Do you remember how it ended?
“(Laughs) We won the league, but Inter have a seven-point lead, which is a lot. They’re the stronger team. Milan did well, the lads were very good, we could have been more focused in the final 30 metres.
“We reached 60 points, we held Juventus at 10 points away, we have Como at -9, Roma at -9. It was important to get a result. We worked for six or seven months to get to March in the best possible condition.
“That’s the most important thing, because after now in March there are the games that matter and the season will be decided.”
Gerry Cardinale congratulated you in the dressing room…
“Cardinale went into the dressing room, I spoke to the team and then left because I had to do interviews, and we were very pleased that the entire club, the entire ownership, congratulated the lads.
“However, we know that right now we haven’t achieved any of our objectives. We need to keep our feet on the ground. We need to be happy with the win, but above all, we need to understand that it brings us three points that take us to 60 points, with one less win to go to reach our goal.”
You guided Estupinan with the movement on the goal…
“Luis Henrique is a good player, but we had prepared for that situation. Before the goal, there was a cross from Rabiot, and if Estupinan had read it a little earlier, he could have beaten him by running in front of him.
“Fofana did well. Fofana made a beautiful assist, and in Cremona he had made two other important assists that we didn’t score from. It means the team is better, and above all, it was important to get a result.”
In the first half, Milan pressed hard…
“We ran a lot in the first half, and it was a huge waste of energy. In the second half, partly due to Inter’s skill and partly because we’d exhausted a lot of energy, we dropped back a bit and allowed a few crosses.
“But we had some great chances, aside from Dimarco’s, where we managed to get through on a counter-attack, and we defended in an organised manner.
“We had favourable situations: in the first half, after going 1-0 up, we almost made it 2-0, and in the second half, the same thing. That said, Inter remains the clear favourites for the title.”
Could you have kept up the high tempo for longer?
“We spent a couple of months with 13 or 14 players. When you’re in those moments, games last 95 minutes and maintaining a certain pace… There are times when you have one strategy and times when you have another.
“There were times when I was short of players, and the boys put in a lot of effort. The goal is to maintain this intensity for longer, when you have a lot of players available, it’s better. We’re feeling better physically, and this win boosts our morale.”