Preparations are underway for the derby between Inter and AC Milan that will come after the international break, and the media hype is building too.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) writes this morning about the battle for the second start between Inter and Milan. Each have 19 Scudetti and the derby one week on Saturday – if it doesn’t end in a draw – will give a first strong indication regarding who are the title favourites.
The eventual winner will make four wins out of four, 12 points out of 12, and – without forgetting the reigning champions Napoli plus Juve too – they will automatically become the temporary favourite in the Scudetto race.
Simone Inzaghi in his third season with Inter feels a certain pressure: he hasn’t won the scudetto yet, neither at Inter nor with Lazio before. Stefano Pioli did that in 2022.
Inzaghi hasn’t won the league yet but his Inter side – in the two-year period 2021-23 – recorded equal or better numbers than Milan in Serie A. The figures must be interpreted with context, but they tell us about how competitive a team can be or not.
The goal difference data, for example, speaks volumes. Inter are +81 in the two-year period mentioned, with Milan at +59. In goals scored, the Nerazzurri have 155 against 133 for the Rossoneri, while the goals conceded are tied at 74 each.
The derbies in the Champions League semi-finals saw Inter exercise their excessive physical-technical power. So why didn’t Inzaghi win the Scudetto and Pioli did?
In his first season at Inter, Inzaghi had the Scudetto in his hands. The derby on 5 February 2022 was the turning point, given that a win for the blue side of the city or even a draw would have kept Pioli’s men at bay, but Olivier Giroud’s double turned everything on its head.
Inter’s defeat in Bologna ended up being the real moment where things fell apart, and Milan won the league thanks to their unflappable spirit in the final six games as they won all six and conceded just one.
It is a fairly widespread opinion that Inter threw away that title and it is difficult to argue against that. Last season was different as it was dominated by Napoli, and neither Milan club really put up a fight.
Here perhaps the choice of different objectives had an impact, given Inzaghi preferred to bet on the Coppa Italia (which he won) and on the Champions League, where the dream faded in the final against Manchester City.
Inzaghi remains the only coach from the big clubs not to have won a title. Rudi Garcia did it at Lille, France. Max Allegri has collected league titles between Juve and Milan, Maurizio Sarri did so at Juve, while Jose Mourinho has a few. Pioli joined the club in 2022.
Inzaghi, at 47, has the time and the trust of the management to get there, while Inter-Milan on the 16th will answer many questions.
This Inter threw away the title argument isn’t really accurate when you consider the refs cost us about 9 points with their insane decisions- Giroud being “offside” while being sat on, Messias winner ruled out for a free kick etc spring to mind.
Also Calha’s dive, to earn a non existent penalty..
Non of that matters anymore. What matters is the current season and the current goals. Scudetto and a deep run in CL.
FORZA MILAN ⚫️🔴