Right then, I’ll be off. That was an absolute treat from first to last. Bye!
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That was superb entertainment. Milan played superbly in the first half, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the heart of everything, but after the break it all fell apart for them. When a ball deflected perfectly for Brozovic to volley in, and then Vecino’s shot bounced somehow through Kjaer’s legs two minutes later, they perhaps concluded that fate had decided to kick them somewhere nasty. They tried their best to recover equilibrium, but other than one late Ibrahimovic header they rarely threatened - they ended the game with just two shots on target - while Inter’s confidence rocketed. De Vrij scored with a magnificent header, Eriksen nearly scored with a ludicrous free-kick, Barella fluffed a one-on-one, and then Lukaku applied the coup de grace. It was all spectacularly good fun (if you’re not a Milan fan).
Final score: Internazionale 4-2 Milan
90+6 mins: It’s over! Inter, two goals down at half-time, have stormed back to claim an emphatic victory and join Juventus at the top of the table on 54 points. Lazio are a point behind, and Italy have a proper three-way title fight on their hands.
90+4 mins: Inter break, but as they get towards the edge of the Milan area they stop and head for the corner flag. They nurse the ball there for a while, but then it’s played infield to Moses, who crosses to the far post, and Lukaku emphatically outjumps Kjaer!
GOAL! Internazionale 4-2 Milan (Lukaku, 90+3 mins)
And that’s sealed it! What a game!
90+2 mins: Milan are pushing for an equaliser, but Inter defend in numbers and Milan can’t get into the penalty area.
90+1 mins: There will be about four minutes of stoppage time.
90 mins: Ibrahimovic hits the post! Paqueta crosses from the left and Ibrahimovic outjumps Skriniar, wins the header and sends it bouncing into the back stick!
89 mins: What a chance for a fourth! Inter clear, and Milan’s defenders all leave the bouncing ball to each other on the halfway line allowing Barella to burst onto it and streak through! He sprints into the area, sprints a little further, sprints until Donnarumma is a couple of feet away and then shoots into him!
86 mins: A Milan attack peters out and Inter break through Lukaku, at least until he is punished for, well, your guess is as good as mine but Simon Kjaer fell over so it was probably something to do with that.
84 mins: A final throw of the dice for Milan sees Giacomo Bonaventura replace Rebic.
81 mins: Milan bring on Lucas Paqueta, who replaces Kessie.
80 mins: Eriksen hits the bar! That’s a fantastic free-kick from the Dane, from 35 yards if it’s an inch, which speeds and dips and beats Donnarumma, but comes off the underside of the bar and bounces away!
80 mins: A couple of substitutions, as Inter bring Moses on for Candreva and Milan bring Rafael Leao on for Castillejo.
79 mins: Andrea Conti is booked for bringing down Eriksen (it looked to me like the Swede accidentally clipped his own heel).
78 mins: Brozovic’s shot from 25 yards or so takes a deflection and bounces harmlessly through to Donnarumma.
75 mins: Milan are now engulfed in a full-blown crisis of the soul. They’ve played phenomenally well, outplayed their great rivals for much of the match, scored a couple of fine goals and still they trail. They appear to have undergone a selfbeliefectomy.
71 mins: The game’s first substitution sees Eriksen replace Sanchez for Inter.
GOAL! Internazionale 3-2 Milan (De Vrij, 70 mins)
And now Inter lead! From the corner De Vrij, diving forward and meeting the ball a little over chest height, sends a header flying across goal and in at the far post! What a header that is!
70 mins: Brozovic’s chip into the area falls for Lukaku, whose shot deflects just wide!
69 mins: Rebic’s lovely turn buys him some space on the edge of the Inter penalty area, but his shot hits Candreva. The ball rebounds to Brozovic, who is dispossessed in a ludicrously dangerous area by Kessie, so he falls over and the referee gives him a free-kick.
67 mins: Milan have a free-kick, 35 yards out, which Ibrahimovic smashes round the wall, but not quite with enough curl to threaten the goal.
64 mins: Not surprisingly, those two goals have taken much of the wind out of Milan’s sails. They’re still just about on top, but they are now finding Inter’s penalty area rather hard to penetrate.
62 mins: Kessie is booked for “fouling” Barella, who really is incredibly tiresome with his constant self-flinging free-kick-seeking madness.
60 mins: This game is absolutely wild. The scoreline massively flatters Inter, but anything can happen from here and that’s just fine with me.
57 mins: That foul wasn’t really worth one yellow card, let alone two and a red. Young clears the free-kick.
56 mins: And a red card for a coach! Christian Stellini, Inter’s assistant coach, has been sent to the stands!
55 mins: Barella and Skriniar are both booked, the latter for pushing Castillejo to the ground, and the former presumably for saying something untoward.
53 mins: Sanchez is played through, pass and run timed perfectly, and Donnarumma comes out of goal to close him down, so the Chilean spins and plays back to Vecino, whose first-time shot goes through Kjaer’s legs on its way into the net!
GOAL! Internazionale 2-2 Milan (Vecino, 53 mins)
Milan’s lead evaporates in two minutes!
GOAL! Internazionale 1-2 Milan (Brozovic, 51 mins)
Inter are back in it! Candreva’s attempted cross hits a defender and loops into the air, landing on the left foot of Brozovic, 20 yards out and central, who sends a controlled volley past Donnarumma!
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51 mins: Good work from Sanchez on the left, who eventually switches to Candreva on the other flank. His cross causes some panic, but Milan hack clear.
50 mins: Barella loses the ball by throwing himself to the floor in search of a free-kick that was never there, and Milan are on the attack again.
48 mins: A bit of a break, after Theo Hernandez goes down and stays there for a while. I have no doubt that he’s completely fine.
47 mins: No changes at the break, either to the teams or, it seems, to the momentum, with Milan back on the front foot.
46 mins: Peeeep! Inter get the second half started!
The players are on their way back out. Milan have only lost one game in the last three months (well, three months tomorrow), and as things stand that run is in no danger of ending tonight.
He really is extraordinary. His anticipation for his goal, while his notional marker - Skriniar I think - headed off somewhere completely irrelevant, was really very good (though the defender’s haplessness amplified it). He, Calhanoglu and Rebic have been the key players of the first half.
@Simon_Burnton ____what motivates Ibrahimovic at this age!he is playing with extraordinary hunger!
— bade ibk (@awobadeibukun) February 9, 2020
Half time: Internazionale 0-2 Milan
Milan have been extremely good, and deservedly lead at the break. Inter have had one good chance, which Vecino sent too close to the keeper, but have been on the back foot for most of what has been an excellent game so far. More (not) soon (enough).
GOAL! Internazionale 0-2 Milan (Ibrahimovic, 45+1 mins)
Another goal! The corner is swung in, Kessie totally miscues his attempt to volley it in and instead it bounces through to Ibrahimovic at the far post, who heads back across goal and in!
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45 mins: Excellent clearance! De Vrij flings out a foot to stop Rebic tapping in Calhanoglu’s cross from the left!
44 mins: Inter have a free-kick from deep on the left, which is hoisted into the box and would quite possibly have dipped under the bar had Donnarumma not tipped it over!
42 mins: Meanwhile in Spain, Betis have just taken the lead against Barcelona for the second time. It’s 2-1 there, Nabil Fekir with the home side’s second.
GOAL! Internazionale 0-1 Milan (Rebic, 40 mins)
Milan deservedly lead! It’s a long ball into the box, which Ibrahimovic heads down excellently towards Rebic. Padelli launches himself at it in an attempt to stop it reaching the Croatian, but all he achieves is leaving Rebic with an empty net to tap into!
39 mins: Calhanoglu, with a chance to play Rebic in on goal, massively overhits his pass.
37 mins: Ibrahimovic gets into space on the left of the area, but his pull-back is intercepted. Then Barella wins a free-kick with a ludicrous overreaction to Kessie’s foot nudging his own, giving Inter a chance to regroup.
36 mins: Kessie’s shot is charged down. Really there was no chance at all of it failing to hit the defender standing half a yard away, and there wasn’t much point in having the shot in the first place.
33 mins: Chance for Milan! Calhanoglu gets down the right side of the area, and cuts onto his left foot. To their credit, Inter’s centre-backs keep getting themselves in the way of everything, leaving Padelli with very little to do, and this time it’s Godin who blocks the shot.
31 mins: Having said that, there have been no shots for several minutes now. The game still has a whiff of goal-inevitable-and-quite-soon-probably about it.
27 mins: This is such a fun game, high-paced, loud-atmosphered, full of goalmouth action. Milan are knocking on the door again as I type, winning another corner.
24 mins: What a chance for Inter! Lukaku screams past Romagnoli on the right and pulls back for Vecino, whose first time shot goes straight to the keeper!
22 mins: Milan are back on the goal hunt, zipping the ball about from left to right before Samu Castillejo attempts a couple of crosses. One is a little overstrong, the other hits Young and rebounds for a corner, which Padelli claims.
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20 mins: The referee gives Inter a free kick, after one of Rebic’s fingers gently flicks Vecino in the upper chest/lower neck area, sending the Uruguayan to the turf clutching his face. It is one of the least free-kicky free kicks I’ve ever seen.
18 mins: A long-range shot deflects to Alexis, whose shot deflects for a corner, which deflects for another corner. This one is headed just wide of the far post by Godin, rising highest in the middle.
16 mins: Milan continue to look most likely. Rebic has a shot from the edge of the area that hits Vecino and rebounds back to him, and his second effort goes wide.
12 mins: A bit of attacking action from Inter, as Ashley Young wins a corner on the left. It’s sent into the area where half a dozen people throw limbs at it, but it ends up in the arms of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
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9 mins: Now Milan hit the post! Barella gives the ball away when trying to beat three men inside his own half and Calhanoglu hammers a low shot from 25 yards that screams past Padelli and thumps the meat of the far post! From there it rebounds into a defender and rolls conveniently to Padelli.
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7 mins: Another chance for Milan! This time Calhanoglu’s low centre runs to Rebic, who thumps it into a defender when very well placed.
5 mins: Ibrahimovic has the ball, about 30 yards from goal. Two runners sprint past him on the right, and really the pass to release Kessie was an easy one. But the Swede fluffs it, and Padelli collects.
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3 mins: I assume that when Milan worked on that corner on the training ground it did not turn out quite so hopelessly.
2 mins: A really bright start from Milan. Now Rebic bursts into the penalty area and wins a corner.
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1 min: The first shot of the night comes from the left boot of Franck Kessie, just outside the area, but it hits a defender. A few seconds later, Ibrahimovic miscues a ludicrously difficult volley over the bar.
1 min: Peeeeeeeep! Kick off has now taken place.
The players are in the tunnel, and kick off his now imminent.
This has taken some serious coordination.
Impressive by #ACMilan fans. Spell out “INTER MERDA” in phone lights #InterMilan #DerbyDellaMadonnina #DerbyMilan pic.twitter.com/N2tDShpEm6
— Daniella Matar (@DaniellaMatar) February 9, 2020
It is 61 years since Inter won more than eight consecutive home derbies, which is the number they’re currently on. They managed nine in a row ending in 1959, and 10 in a row ending in 1938. In other news, tonight’s referee is Fabio Maresca. It is his fourth Inter game of the season (they’ve won the other three) and his second Milan match (they lost the other one).
While we wait for today’s game to kick off, here are highlights of Inter’s 2-0 derby win in September:
Christian Eriksen, you’ll notice, is not in the Inter line-up. He’s on the bench along with Victor Moses and Samir Handanovic, Inter’s not-quite-fit-enough captain and first-choice goalkeeper.
The teams!
The team sheets are in, and today’s starting line-ups look like this:
Internazionale: Padelli, Godin, De Vrij, Skriniar, Candreva, Vecino, Brozovic, Barella, Young, Sanchez, Lukaku.
Milan: Donnarumma, Conti, Kjær, Romagnoli, Hernandez, Castillejo, Kessiè, Bennacer, Rebic, Hakan; Ibrahimovic.
📢 | FORMAZIONE#DerbyMilano, ecco gli 1⃣1⃣ di partenza scelti da Antonio Conte! 👇#InterMilan #FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/NhmJnwzBCz
— Inter (@Inter) February 9, 2020
⚽ #InterMilan: our starting XI ⚽
— AC Milan (@acmilan) February 9, 2020
C'mooon boys! 🔴⚫
Così in campo nel Derby. Forza ragazzi!#SempreMilan@BioscalinITA pic.twitter.com/sSbamUwKzE
Hello world!
Well here’s a treat! Instead of an afternoon watching Manchester City and West Ham battle against Storm Ciara, I get an evening with the Milan derby. Thanks Ciara! Inter will join Juventus on 54 points after 23 games if they win, while victory would take Milan from a slightly embarrassing level-with-Cagliari 32 points to 35, enough for sixth place.
There will be plenty of familiar faces for those anglophiles whose attention rarely wanders as far as Italy: Zlatan Ibahimovic is in the Milan squad (as is Asmir Begovic, though he has less chance of actually playing), while Inter have a squad stuffed with Premier League outcasts, including Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Christian Eriksen, Victor Moses and Ashley Young, all of whom played in last week’s 2-0 win at Udinese (Sanchez off the bench).
This fixture has a pretty one-sided recent history: of the 18 matches since Milan won the 2011 Supercoppa Inter have won nine and lost two (plus a third after extra time, which either counts or doesn’t depending on the rules you’re playing by). When they last met in September Inter won 2-0. Can Milan put up more of a fight playing away from home (kind of)? We’re about to find out!
Sempre con voi ragazzi! Forza @acmilan 👏🏻🔴⚫️ #SempreMilan #DerbyMilano #SanSiro pic.twitter.com/GCJjohbBfM
— Andriy Shevchenko (@jksheva7) February 9, 2020
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