An incredible performance, topped off with a goal that will go down in Inter history.
Inter has recovered Milan. Someone could say that in reality it has always been his, by virtue of the now decennial superiority when the day of the derby arrives. But, after last year’s Scudetto race and the peremptory growth of Stefano Pioli’s Milan, this special derby in the Champions League semifinal, exactly 20 years after the one decided by Abbiati’s saves, sounds like a statement definitive in the comparison between cousins. Inter won and did so without leaving the slightest doubt, depriving Milan fans of even the possibility of justifying themselves behind Leao’s semi-absence. The ease and determination with which Inzaghi’s team managed to create dangers for the Rossoneri defense was disarming for all the fans, silenced just like the players on the pitch. In both matches, the Inter players gave the impression of being able to find spaces to attack in a natural way, almost snapping their fingers. In particular, there were two moments in which Milan seemed to freeze on the pitch, unable to read the action even before taking the appropriate countermeasures. And both moments have the same common denominator: Lautaro Martinez.
The first is the one that led to the 2-0 goal in the first leg, and which therefore strongly steered the dispute. The Argentine striker actually doesn’t even touch the ball: a simple veil is enough for him to destroy the dreams of half Milan. The action stems from an excellent reattack and from the triggering of Barella for Dimarco’s run on the left. The Nerazzurri full-back, perhaps without looking, tries to lean towards the edge of the area where Lautaro is, but he is slightly ahead of the ball and has to turn around to recover it. Initially he thinks about going to the ball, but in the end he gives up and lets it pass. There is to pick it up Mkhitaryan who, undisturbed, enters the area and scores the goal which definitively tilts the inertia of the derby on the side of Inzaghi’s team. 10 minutes of the 180 total have passed, Inter are already ahead 2-0.
First instinct is to criticize the positioning of the Milan defenders, who leave a hole for the insertion of the Armenian midfielder, pursued in vain by only Tonali who, even if he wanted to, simply cannot do everything. But if we take a good look at Lautaro’s play, it is more decisive for the goal than the Rossoneri mistakes. The Argentine’s body language is clear: he is heading towards the ball, with his back to goal, so he will need some extra playing time to turn around and decide what to do. If he were to play the ball first, it’s easy to think that he would lay back.
This is why the Milan defense is completely surprised when it is discovered that, in reality, Lautaro does not want to touch the ball. In the eyes of the Rossoneri defenders, the ball is about to stop, and instead, thanks to Lautaro’s intuition, it continues its run, rekindling a danger that seemed to have escaped. A very intelligent but sober play. Smooth, to be precise. It is as if he was able to stop Milan, like in the Prince of Persia video games, where time can be slowed down for a few moments.
This is only the first action with which Lautaro broke Milan’s back. The second comes in the return match, in a completely different context. If the veil of the first leg came at a time when Milan didn’t seem able to react to what was happening on the pitch, in the second leg the Rossoneri managed to bring a different spirit onto the pitch, even if they still struggled to worry Onana .
For a brief moment, Pioli’s team found rhythm and courage; only the mistake of Brahim Diaz did not allow him to find the goal. Lautaro, around the twentieth, however, seems to feed on that courage; he does this with another action where he seems to slow down time. He is in his own frontline and surrounded by AC Milan, with Theo Hernandez under pressure and Tonali helping. In the space of a handkerchief he first slows down, as if he wanted to pause the manoeuvre, perhaps going back. Then he makes a fluid and rapid tack, which leaves both Tonali and Theo in place and, now facing the opponent’s goal, starts in progression, suddenly sprinting and definitively surprising his opponents. He manages to make it about 20 meters before being knocked down desperately by Tonali, who managed to get a foul out of that desperate situation but, mysteriously, not a card.
This photo sequence in which Lautaro managed to extricate himself from a difficult situation is the perfect image of what this Champions League derby was like. The superiority and cunning with which “the Bull” evades opponents by creating clear advantages is unstoppable. And for Inter, with such physical and mental intensity, everything really seemed too easy. As for Lautaro, in a period of form where everything seems to succeed.
The Argentinian striker was probably the best player in the qualifying round, taking the UEFA man of the match award in the second leg. He also scored the decisive goal of the second leg: a full-neck missile kick that even managed to make Maignan look unprepared. The dynamics of the action is a reminder of the mental difference between the two teams, with Kalulu and his teammates watching the ball bounce between bodies without knowing how to intervene, and the Inter players who instead appear more concentrated and intense and they manage to get hold of every loose ball. A difference in approach that proved to be decisive, because in moments of confusion the ball ended up seeming to be attracted to those who wanted it most. It is no coincidence that in this circumstance he ended up right among Lautaro’s boots.
It is very difficult to find an absolute protagonist in this path that has led Inter to play in the Champions League final. Between the longevity and experience of Dzeko and Mkhitaryan, the chaotic vigor of Barella, the percussions of Dimarco, the flashes of Lukaku, the compactness of Acerbi and Bastoni or the intelligence of Calhanoglu and Brozovic, it seems to be doing someone an injustice in the ‘express a preference. But at the same time, Lautaro emerged as a great protagonist precisely in the most important challengebecoming the symbol of this incredible journey.
If two seasons ago Lukaku was the face of Inter who dominated the derbies, now Lautaro is taking on that role. He has grown technically but also in character: he avoids reacting to the numerous fouls suffered or letting himself be caught up in moments of bluster. In the derby lost last season he had been caught making bad gestures towards his opponents – yes he saideven that he had spat at Theo Hernandez. Now he is no longer that Lautaro: he is a bigger, more mature and more charismatic version.
Lautaro Martinez embodies the hunger and talent of Inter and the world cup won in December seems to have given him further confidence in his ability. In the two Champions League derbies he entered the field with the captain’s armband and played as a great striker but above all as a great leader. Now he is one step away from glory and in Istanbul he will once again have the opportunity to slow down time around him. After all, the bond between Inter and Argentina has always been intense. It is no coincidence that he has become the man on the front line to bring Inter back to the top of Europe.