AC Milan have left themselves with a mountain to climb in the second half against Inter after they were beaten 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final last night.
Corriere della Sera (via MilanNews) recalls how Milan also made a terrible start to the derby in the Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia earlier in the year and last night they managed to do even worse, falling two goals behind after less than 12 minutes.
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While there is still the second leg to play, on Tuesday a complete transformation is needed from front to back if the Rossoneri are to book their place in the final in Istanbul.
After Mkhitaryan’s made it 2-0, Stefano Pioli’s men also came close to conceding a third goal not long after on a couple of occasions such as when Calhanoglu hit the post, but some luck and a couple of saves from Maignan kept it just about respectable.
In the second half things went a little better and Milan actually exerted some periods of pressure, but nobody could leave San Siro and think that Inter did not win deservedly and are not now one step away from the final.
Milan need Rafael Leao back, who yesterday was forced to watch the game in the stands due to the muscle problem he suffered against Lazio in the league on Saturday.
For such a task the Rossoneri need their strongest player, otherwise the mission is almost impossible. For the Diavolo it is the third defeat out of four derbies this season, which is a worrying trend.
We have a poorly setup team by a one dimensional coach, who learns nothing from past experiences with players who went into a derby war with a friendship mentality, I don’t expect less that a trashing.
👍 Dave
They didn’t go with friendship mentality. They went in with panic. I guess Leao absence really deflated their morale. Almost all the players played below standard. Giroud was no where to be found. Benacer that was trying to impose himself got injured. Goaless or 0:1 wouldn’t have been bad but this 2: 0. I don’t think we can go anywhere . Inter team are complete.
Well said.
Terrible times for Pioli he should go
No CL final and No CL next season it’s time for De Zerbi
He won’t be leaving Brighton. We need an over achiever like Julian Nagelsmann.
Milan has no money to sign Julian Nagelsman, I believe that pioli will remain as milan head coach , even they play in Serie B