Inter 1-2 AC Milan: Gabbia scores late winner to stop history being made

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

AC Milan won their first Derby della Madonnina since 2022 after goals from Christian Pulisic and Matteo Gabbia either side of Federico Dimarco’s goal. 

Ahead of the derby, Milan and more importantly the senior figures at the club were under intense pressure. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paulo Fonseca and Rafael Leao had been heavy topics of criticism after midweek events. However, the derby offered a fantastic chance for a restart.

Things started fantastically for the Rossoneri and after a large period of pressure, they took the lead through Christian Pulisic, who took advantage of the space left open by Inter’s defence and nicely finished his chance.

Their lead would only last 17 minutes, though, and after poor positioning, Inter levelled through Federico Dimarco – who was a persistent threat for the hosts all night.

Milan would eventually make their second-half dominance worthwhile, though, with a late goal from Matteo Gabbia following a fantastic cross from Tijjani Reijnders. A fantastic moment.

Before the game, Fonseca’s future was a heavy topic and after changing his system slightly, there were signs of promise throughout the game, and there were spells where his side looked the better of the two teams. Following the result, and more importantly the performance, it remains to be seen what the future holds.

The first chance of the game fell to Alvaro Morata – from the right-hand side, Tijjani Reijnders shifted inside finding the Spaniard who forced a save from Yann Sommer, and whilst the Rossoneri couldn’t do anything with the resulting corner it was a nice sign early on.

Milan almost breached the Inter defence twice in as many minutes as Pulisic drove through the middle and almost managed to weave his way through the defence, but he was stopped in his tracks. Again, a promising sign.

To the joy of the Milanisti in the Meazza, the promising signs became something tangible as Pulisic was, again, given space through the middle of the pitch. Seeing a gap in the Inter defence, the winger drove through and slid the ball past Sommer making it 1-0.

Unfortunately, the lead only lasted for 17 minutes. Nicolo Barella played a long switch where Fede Dimarco was left unmarked, the Italian then played it first time into Martinez – who probably was allowed a little bit too much space. Inter’s captain then refound the wing-back and he dispatched a driven shot into the far corner.

Questions, again, will be asked about Emerson Royal for his positioning in the goal. From the original pass, the Brazilian should have been tighter, and then he was dragged into pressing Martinez – being the third player to do so and leaving Dimarco clear at the back post. Questionable once again, and frustrations are understandable.

Following the goal, Inter started to dominate the game, with Milan failing to really exit their own half, at least meaningfully. If anything, it seemed as if the pressure was setting onto the shoulders of the Diavolo’s players, with them starting to dally on the ball and look less confident going forward.

Again, Inter attacked down the line and Dumfries found Martinez sitting outside the box – almost mirroring the equaliser. The Argentine striker once again played the ball through, this time to Marcus Thuram, and the Frenchman struck the ball towards the far corner but Mike Maignan was brilliantly equal to it.

From the resulting corner, Inter came close once again with a searching ball across the box but no one could meet it. You could argue Milan got quite lucky but without another goal conceded, they will not complain at all.

At the half-time whistle some positives can be taken, and barring the expected period of pressure after Inter’s goal, the Rossoneri looked quite passable, perhaps even good at times. Pulisic had some good moments, but Fonseca needed to request more from Rafael Leao and Youssouf Fofana – who got booked after being caught napping in possession.

The change in the system showed bright signs in the first half, especially in the opening periods, and had the Diavolo been slightly better in defence they probably would have taken a lead into half-time.

Milan’s first chance of the second half came within the first minute as the Rossoneri charged down the right-hand side, Emerson put in a fantastic ball to find Tammy Abraham who met the ball with a great header forcing a fantastic save from Sommer.

Just a minute later, the Diavolo came close again and following some heavy pressing Sommer’s heavy touch and clearance led to him clattering Abraham in the box but a VAR check deemed there to be nothing sinister in it.

The following 10 minutes were filled with Inter pressure, with very few ‘chances’. Instead, it was just large spells of possession with Milan arguably making things slightly difficult for themselves, and the Nerazzurri failing to capitalise on anything.

Inter nearly capitalised on a chance in the 61st minute, again Dimarco the protagonist and after entering the box well, Matteo Gabbia made a fantastic sliding challenge to prevent a shot or pass.

It would be Milan who next came closest to scoring, and Rafael Leao finally showed glimpses of himself with a fantastic run down the left-hand side, after evading a challenge well, he found Reijnders in the box and the Dutchman forced another good save from Sommer.

From the resulting corner, the Rossoneri thought they had a penalty after the ball made contact with what looked to be Martinez’s arm, but after a VAR check, the referee deemed it to have connected with his shoulder and scratched the call.

Leao made the next chance of the game, this time counter-attacking down the left-hand side and after cutting into the box he had a weak attempt which Sommer saved easily. Signs of him gaining confidence, though, which is not a bad thing at all.

Again, Inter made a nice chance down the left-hand side, this time Martinez would be the one to unleash an attempt – doing so with a first-time volley with his weak foot – but Maignan saved well.

Sommer, again, was the hero 15 minutes from time, Tammy Abraham broke free and with Leao and Pulisic supporting either side of him he opted to go to the Portuguese winger and Sommer saved the resulting shot fantastically.

The Rossoneri came agonisingly close to taking the lead again just minutes later and Abraham this time took on the shot himself, but he dragged his shot slightly wide of the post. Very close once again, painfully so.

Following the chance, Fonseca made his first substitutions of the night – Noah Okafor for Morata, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for Pulisic, and it seemed that the Englishman had been deployed as the second striker, at least when defending. Shortly after, Leao was also taken off for Samuel Chukwueze with the winger tiring.

The pressure eventually came good for Milan as Reijnders delivered an inch-perfect set-piece which Matteo Gabbia headed home past the flailing Sommer sending the Rossoneri into pandemonium. What a moment for the defender and a massively deserved goal for him and the Diavolo.

Inter do not win their seventh consecutive derby in a row. Milan win the derby for the first time since 2022. Unbelievable scenes.

Tags AC Milan Inter Milan

59 Comments

  1. Gabbia has to start now, he’s our best CB, he made some great challenges too. I didn’t see all the game as had to look on my phone sneakily. Will await everyone’s thoughts

  2. Gabbia is MOTM and should start every game even before his goal he was great at defending.

    Inzaghi gifted us the game with his Substitution to be honest but glad we won.

    Leao needs to wake up or get benched this guy ran less than Maignan

    1. Yeh I didn’t get that – kept subbing off his best players and bringing on garbage. It was like he reverted back to the Inzaghi of 3 seasons ago.

  3. I’m not entirely sold on Fonseca, but this was a solid win. Maybe 4-4-2 is better suited for this team. Fonseca does show more in the way of flexibility, but there is something lacking concentration wise in parts of our team, including with the attack.

    We’d have to see on future if he’s the right coach for this team.

    Nonetheless this was a sharp improvement over Liverpool, albeit not perfect either. It’s pretty crazy how we aren’t too far away from the top of the league, even with the mediocre start. It seems all that movement in the market caused issues for others.

    1. With the players on the field, it was more like an unbalanced 4-2-3-1.
      Tammy, Morata, and Pulisic all tracked back, Leao did not, staying stuck at his left forward spot the entire match.

      1. 4231 is just a derivative of 442 really. Wenger used to set up 442 with Henry and Bergkamp up front and then all of a sudden is was sold to us as 4231..the only difference is the second striker, in this case Bergkamp dropping in behind Henry.

  4. Fonseca took a big risk with the system change and it paid off. Morata and Abraham were both threats all the match. And boy what.a.match from Abraham! He deserved to score that shot but it was wide unfortunately. And what can we say about Gabbia, before the goal he was in play for MOTM and after the goal he definitely was the best in the field, sorry for Sommer who made a fantastic match for Inter

  5. In all fairness, Emerson stepped up his gear on 2nd half. And he provided something that’s long gone missing from our RB, a decent cross. Way to go.

    Love Fofana. Drop deep when needed, winning many balls, covering lots and lots of spaces. He needs to work on his passing tho.

    Tammy, it’s like he’s been here for 10 years. Love the spirit, just what we need. Really wish that he could finish that sweet chance. Wonder how crazy he’d be.

    And Gabbia, well, from now on he should be the mainstay of our CB. Not for the goal, but the overall performance.

    Fonseca, I hope this is a good sign that he’s desperately seeking for. If we can show up like this, playing with heart, week in week out, then all the props go to you.

    Forza Rossoneri!

    1. Emerson showed heart tonight, for me he has been targeted by everyone but tonight he made us all eat are words, those who can so easily criticise should no so easily praise!!

      1. I do agree… Emerson wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty good and showed a lot of effort. Definitely showing he does have quality to play for this team… hopefully it stays consistent.

      2. How’d he make us eat our words when he was the main reason Dimarco had that easy chance at scoring? Granted he stepped up a bit in the second half but he made absolutely no one eat their words

  6. For Ollie Fisher & Co saying Milan had no chance…. In the words of JayZ..

    Well, you’ve been wrong before
    And you’ll be wrong again if you bet against AC Milan..

  7. Pulisic and Gabbia need to start every match! Please no more randomly dropped Gabbia after a good performance.

    Gabbia bring some confidence in the defence.

    Leao need to step up… he showed up start from 60 and by 80 he already described as tiring lol

    4-4-2 showed promise, maybe thats the key for better result.

    Another bonus, Jovic always looked better with 2 striker formation so maybe he will also benefit as 3rd option striker.

    1. Least plugs to fill as well with 4-4-2.

      Okafor would be a better sub for Morata than as LM in 4-4-2. If we promote Traore until January, he could show promise and we get cover for Leao. Last 2 games he played, he scored goals for us…

      Jovic is there as you said, lack of midfielders doesn’t make as much problem in this formation. If RLC and Bennacer are sold and Ricci is bought in January, the entire situation is solved as Zeroli and Musah are there as well.

      We could also go for 10-15M bid for J.David as Jovic upgrade and he can play both as Tammy and Morata sub.

      1. Why sell a much better midfielder in Bennacer and keep Musah? This team will continue to digress with decisions like this. Musah rarely contributes positively to this team and needs to go.

        1. When is the last time Bennacer fit for extended period of time? And he was struggling for form. A lot.

          His condition is worse than Maignan. With Maignan, he will always available for at least 2/3 matches and dont take long time to reach form.

          Bennacer is injured most of time for 3rd season in a row, and he always struggle to find form – in fact he never became starter quality ever since the scudetto season (and that season the midfield was Kessie and Tonali)

    2. Coach admitted the formation didn’t change. Just that he had Morata play behind the striker.

      So we don’t need a formation change, but a functional no 10. And we also need more defensive minded midfielders in the double pivot. Fofana was better today and provided the cover that was lacking in the past few games.

    3. I am surprised now one has noticed Leao doesn’t have the Stamina to do what Pulisic, that can track back and support back line, I have seen Poili doing it with him last few years then you find him after 20 min he is done, there is something wrong.

      Don’t get me wrong he can sprint like Carl Lewis but cant maintaining his stamina for more then 25 min a game.

      that’s why he stays on side lines to take breather.

      Pulisic is beast he is all over the attack mid on the wings

      Def as well, he is true leader, Milan watch out next season for Salary increase of 7-9 Million, coz i am sure his agnet will be Marketing him around for better package.

  8. Can’t believe Fonseca’s the one to break the duck. Could’ve easily been 4-1 or something if we’d taken our chances – and apart from a few sleepy patches we played we passion for once. Is this the start of the real Milan? ❤️🖤

    1. I’m sure inter had a lot taken out of them by City. I have to say though I wasn’t impressed with them tonight, not like 1-2 years ago…that midfield isn’t getting any younger….

      1. Milan as well had liverpool, but end of the day Milan had more fire in them then inter, they were shocked to see milan come back this hard, even inzaghi was suprised with their responce’

        It was do or die to the players

        that was differance.

  9. Not only we won, but had our strikers (thanks Leao, Okafor and Abraham for it) been better finishers, we could have sealed the deal and won with a good margin. Great win anyways, thank you all for tonight (especially Gabbia, Reijnders and Pulisic) !!
    We’re just 3 points from first place and I don’t think Torino is going to remain there till the end. So technically we’re just 2 points from first place. Not that bad for a start.
    Fonseca: My man, I doubted this 4-2-4 thing but it looked way better on the field. I’m glad we finally sat deeper and relied on counters rather than being too high on the pitch. I think Fonseca earned to stay for another day.
    Maignan: Did well in the few times he was really tested in the first half.
    Emerson: Inter’s goal was mostly his fault (lost his man and was unable to cut Lautaro’s pass), but I thought he improved on the second half and was quite active.
    Gabbia: Man of the match ? Class, composed and solid+the goal. Let the man be a starter please, he already proved he deserves it.
    Tomori: Calmer and more solid tonight as well.
    Theo: Was caught sleeping on some actions, but I think he did well overall. He didn’t allow Dumfries. He should however stop carrying to ball for too long. It could have costed us in the first half.
    Pulisic: Warrior. Absolute class. Finally, we’re done with the “Pulisic doesn’t show in big games”. I guess he was tired in the second half, but great game by him.
    Fofana: He’s starting to improve. In the second half he won many balls and didn’t allow inter’s midfield too much freedom.
    Reijnders: Good game and good freekick. He setup our fast counters which could have resulted in more goals.
    Leao: Look if you don’t want to play just say it. Everyone was giving their hearts and souls and Leao looks disinterested. Missing sitters was also the icing on the game. Worst man tonight, should have been subbed out sooner IMO.
    Abraham: My man looks like a true rossonero, fought for many balls, pressed relentlessly, quick and good passing. The only bad thing was his finishing in some actions.
    Morata: Did well in the passing and buildup of the game, defensively didn’t allow inter’s players too much comfort.
    Forza Milan !!

  10. Somehow this change by Fonseca worked and it you could see why he wanted Abraham & Morata on the pitch. They were great all game, dropping deep , holding up play , opening space . Reijnders was the difference maker with his distribution.
    Gabbia was the hero for me tonight, awesome game in defense and the picture perfect goal.
    Forza Milan.

  11. We should have scored more goals no doubt. Love the team spirit, Okafor need some confidence. Reinjder the unsung hero. Gabbia is a true Milanista. Very solid, hope we will build from this win. In the Champion league against Leverkusen, we can’t be this sloppy we know they’re good and getting that last push. Please Cardinal bring a sporting director who know what they are doing
    FORZA Milan.

    1. Reijnders won man of the match and was outstanding – although he’ll probably still get cr*pped on by people here. And yes a real SD would be better than any player signing right now.

      1. Stellar player. Anyone who questions what Reijnders “actually” does should watch this game…

        Oh wait, that person isn’t here. Snap.

      2. Yeah, Reijnders will be bashed and some people will say “it was a victory against a Serie B team so we’re still screwed” etc 🙂

  12. R.Leao really need to go and learn how to shot than passing ball to the keeper and shooting out wide.

    With Leao, okafor and Tammy it would have been 5-1 scoreline

  13. Lots of great looking runs near goal that, though not successful, you knew would eventually produce.
    Main weakness today was not defense, but a million misdirected passes.
    Pulisic was substituted because he plays at both ends and gives his all.
    Morata and Abraham are opening things up for other players. They can’t just key on Pulisic now. It felt like the offense was opening up in general.

  14. I hate redbird, and not a fan of Fonseca, but I admit this is progress for Milan this season.
    Hopefully this derby win, especially at home to merda, will be the momentum to go further.
    Forza Milan!

  15. Just wow 😲
    Milan and MR FONSECA made me eat my words.
    Well-done lads…..This is how you should continue giving your all for this shirt.
    FORZA MILAN PER SEMPRE

  16. Perhaps more importantly the players will start to believe in Fonseca now. The guy clearly has a way he wants to play.

    Let’s not get too excited because we know we are capable of stinking the place out against Lecce.

    Key things now are consistency, not just in results but team selection, create a spine of the team. Mike, Tomori, Gabbia, Reijnders, Pulisic, Tammy

  17. To quote one of the greatest football critics on this site (who shall remain nameless):

    “But what has Reijnders actually done…”

  18. I think it was MyKidPlaysSoccer who pointed out when we beat Venezia that there were like a quarter of the amount of comments afterward…. Same thing here – imagine if we lost there’d be 1 million… do these MIA Fans actually support the team? 🤔

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