It was destined that Internazionale would win their twentieth Italian title against their rival AC Milan, crowning a solid, effective, and fabulous campaign for the Nerazzurri, which could become even better since the championship came to an end after the 33rd round, and there’s a possibility of breaking several records.
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Index
The Internazionale Campaign
Inter has shown itself to be a very solid team since the beginning of the championship. Simone Inzaghi managed to build a team with extraordinary synergy across all sectors of the field. They rarely concede goals, and when they attack, they are lethal.
So far, they have played 33 matches, with 27 wins, 5 draws, and only one defeat. It’s safe to say that no one could stop the powerful Inter this season.
With 78 goals scored and only 18 conceded, they have the best attack and defense in the league. Behind, they have the security of players like Sommer, Accerbi, Bastoni, and Pavard. In midfield, there’s the versatility of Barella, the intelligence and vision of Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan, along with the solidity of Darmian and the support of Dimarco, who dominated the left side throughout Serie A. Up front, there’s the strong, fast, and clinical Thuram, who, let’s admit, was one of Inter’s best signings in recent times, and the idol and top scorer Lautaro Martínez.
Simone Inzaghi managed, with his typical 3-5-2 formation, to involve the players and show that each one has their role on the field, and that if they fulfill their roles, the team will flow without problems.
We must also not forget about the qualified bench, constantly utilized, with players like Carlos Augusto, Frattesi, De Vrij, Cuadrado, Sánchez, Dumfries, among others.
Therefore, it’s impossible to pick out a standout from Inter’s championship campaign, but there is indeed a big beneficiary at the top of this machine, the idol Lautaro Martínez, who with his keen goal-scoring instinct and precise movements has already scored 23 goals in Serie A and will most likely be crowned as the competition’s top scorer.
Even though Inter reached the Champions League final last season, the evolution of the Nerazzurri is evident. They are an almost unbeatable team, having had a perfect championship from start to finish. At one point, they were neck and neck with Juventus, but soon pulled ahead, with victory after victory.
Therefore, it couldn’t have been any other team but Inter, who wins their twentieth Italian title, second only to Juventus, who has 36.
Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP
Milan 1×2 Inter
For the first time, the Derby della Madonina was played on a Monday, and it meant much more than just a victory over the city rival. For Milan, it was the last hope of continuing to fight for the Italian championship, while for Inter, it was the opportunity to win the Italian championship for the twentieth time and surpass Milan in total titles.
San Siro had an incredible atmosphere, pulsating with the beautiful combination of red and blue. It was an opportunity for another wonderful chapter in the history of the Milan rivalry.
In the end, it was truly a game that will be remembered for eternity: beautiful plays, intensity, strength, many disputes, and even fights between players, a delight for football lovers.
Pioli’s team took to the field in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Maignan; Calabria, Gabbia, Tomori, and Hernández; Reijnders (Giroud) and Adli (Bennacer); Musah (Okafor), Loftus-Cheek (Chukwueze), and Pulisic, with Rafael Leão leading the attack.
Meanwhile, Inzaghi’s squad started in their traditional 3-5-2 with: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, and Bastoni (De Vrij); Darmian (Dumfries), Barella (Frattesi), Calhanoglu (Asllani), Mkhitaryan, and Dimarco (Carlos Augusto); and Thuram and Martínez up front.
Everything was set for the kickoff, and the young and qualified referee Andrea Colombo blew the whistle to start the game.
The game started intensely, with both teams vying for ball possession and populating the midfield. In the 6th minute, Bastoni escaped and ventured down the left, tried to reach the bottom, and crossed to Darmian at the edge of the area, who first-timed it to Lautaro, who unleashed a shot over the goal.
At the 14th minute, Rossoneri responded. Musah advanced on the right, entered the area, and crossed to the middle, Loftus-Cheek received the ball but quickly lost it. Rijnders cleverly arrived from behind and shot first time, but it hit the Nerazzurri defense, and the ball fell to Theo Hernandez outside the area. The French full-back tried a cross-shot, but it went wide without danger.
Both teams sought the goal, but Inter showed more determination. At the 17th minute, Dimarco took a corner at the near post, Pavard beat the marking and headed back, the ball came perfectly to Acerbi’s head, who didn’t forgive, heading it into the net, 1-0 Inter. Milan had only conceded 1 headed goal in the entire championship, but as we know, the famous “Lei do Ex” (Law of the Former) that is very popular in Brazil is gaining ground worldwide, and in its best style, Acerbi opened the scoring.
Photo: Internazionale
With the goal, the Nerazzurri grew even more in the game. In the 24th minute, Dimarco carried the ball through the middle and found Thuram on the right side of the area, the Frenchman controlled the ball and pretended to take on the marking, meanwhile, Dimarco, with great speed, passed him behind and received a beautiful back-heel pass. The full-back, near the goal line, crossed into the box, nobody could intercept it, and the ball fell to Martinez alone on the edge of the six-yard box, but the Argentine, off-balance, kicked it with his shin, and the ball went high.
At the 28th minute, Milan recovered the ball in defense, Reijnders saw Musah’s run and played a beautiful through ball for the youngster, who with great speed got ahead of the marking and passed the ball to Rafael Leão alone. The Portuguese received the ball, cut outside, and found himself one-on-one with Sommer, shot low and firm, but couldn’t direct it as desired, making it an easy save for the Swiss goalkeeper.
After this chance, the game became a bit more rugged, but at the 37th minute, another great chance for Inter. After a scramble in the midfield, Thuram received the ball free in the middle, the good forward dribbled and passed to Barella on the left, who carried the ball towards the middle until he found Thuram at the top of the box, who received and first-timed with style, but the ball narrowly missed the post.
Almost in the next play, Milan had a good passing sequence until the ball went to the right for Musah, who dribbled towards the goal line and crossed to Adli, who arrived like a bullet and shot first time, but Sommer was very attentive and made a beautiful save.
Thuram initiated the counterattack on the left with great speed, entered the area, and crossed imprecisely to the middle, but Milan’s defender Tomori cleared weakly to Mkhitaryan’s feet, who shot straight and forcefully, but at Maignan who parried it.
And so, the excellent first half at San Siro ended, but the best was yet to come.
Three minutes into the second half, Bastoni made a beautiful long pass to Thuram at the edge of the defense, the French forward controlled the ball, protected it, and took it to the left, tried to pass to Mkhitaryan on the overlap but was intercepted, however, the ball returned to his feet, this time he cut inside and took a parallel, dry, and low shot, unstoppable for the goalkeeper, what a goal! 2-0 Inter, and closer and closer to the historic title. The celebration was emotional, and the whole team embraced the forward.
Photo: Internazionale
Two minutes later, Milan responded. Reijnders delivered a beautiful cross to Rafael Leão, the Portuguese prodigy tried to control it but the ball escaped and presented itself beautifully to Henrandez coming from behind, the full-back hit a first-time rocket for another beautiful save by the Swiss wall, on the rebound, Loftus-Cheek tried a volley but hit it very poorly and sent it wide.
Even with the two-goal lead, whenever they had the opportunity, Inter attacked and tried for a third. At the 58th minute, after a good triangulation at the edge of the area, Barella rolled the ball for Calhanoglu’s arrival, the Turkish midfielder took a slight orientated touch and unleashed a bomb from his right for a great save by Maignan.
The game became a bit more rugged, but the fans put on a show in the stands, including with flares, which created a fog on the field but nothing that couldn’t be resolved.
With the support of the fans, Milan tried to pierce the strong Nerazzurri defense, but nothing seemed to work. Pulisic, at 73 minutes, received the ball alone inside the area but finished poorly over the bar.
At 78 minutes, to spice up the classic even more, the Rossoneri took a corner from the right and executed a rehearsed play, Rafael Leão received on the left and the team rotated the ball until it reached Nigerian Chukwueze on the right, the winger received the ball, cut inside, and crossed with his left to Rafael Leão at the far post, the Portuguese headed the ball back inside and beautifully for Giroud, who headed forcefully for another great save by Sommer, but the rebound fell to Tomori, who headed it in, 2-1, and the game gained even more tension and spice.
However, this extra spice made the game uglier, as the teams began to clash and thwart any possibility of plays, until at 47 minutes, almost at the end of the game, Dumfries and Theo Hernandez were involved in regrettable scenes.
Frattessi magnificently controlled the ball in the middle and headed towards the right side of the field, Rafael Leão then held him and fouled him, after the whistle from Andrea Colombo, Theo came forcefully and pushed Fratessi from behind, Dumfries, who was nearby, went crazy with the Frenchman’s attitude and went after him, which sparked the confrontation between the two, who grabbed each other and wouldn’t stop grabbing, while all the other players tried to separate them.
In the end, Colombo sent off both of them and continued the game, which in the last play had another expulsion, Corner kick for Milan, all players in the area, including Maignan, but before the corner was taken, Calabria delivered a sort of elbow to the Inter player and was sent off, after that the corner was taken, the Nerazzurri defense cleared, and the game ended. Inter 20-time Italian champions.
What a celebration, fans, players, staff, and the world amazed by Inter’s campaign, especially for winning the title against their Milanese rivals and with 5 rounds to spare.
Inter could make even more history in this Italian championship, possibly breaking several records at the end of the remaining 4 matches, putting the cherry on top of this beautiful blue and black cake.
Photo: Internazionale
