You can be happy for having limited the dannilost by measure, avoided the umpteenth embarked? Yes, if you are any team that comes from one embarrassing series goalscoring and must stop the bleeding, waiting for better times. Not if your name is Milanmay be champion of Italy and play againstInter. And derby (not) played like this is an offense to the Rossoneri’s history. If Inter-Milan was to be the hub of what remains of the season, it can be said that the pitch directs Stefano Pioli straight to the bottom. More than what the score says: a 1-0 which could have been much wider, two goals disallowed (rightly, for foul of Romelu Lukaku and millimeter offside of lautaro martinez), a couple of decisive saves by the much mistreated Ciprian Tarasanu, which will fall short of the situation but it is certainly not the problem of the situation. It’s still: 15 share a 4none towards the mirror of the door, 65% to 35% of ball possession, 8 corners to zero. They are numbers from spinnot from championship challenge.
And in fact, both Milanese women are looking at the Scudetto this year with binoculars. Even Inter, the usual Inter that even against an opponent in minimal terms appeared supper but softbeautiful and dreamy, which instead of crushing the opponent as it could very well have done, especially in the first halfkept it alive and carried it into the final quarter, where he could have even suffered the mockery of the tie. But not from this Unpresentable Milan. A film already seen too many times for the team of Simone Inzaghiwho not by chance finds himself at -13 from the top and at the end of the season, more than the trophies, will count above all the missed opportunities. But this is nothing new. The news is Milan.
Not the defeat, actually, since the Rossoneri came from 3 consecutive knockoutsthe misery of two draws in the last six games 17 goals conceded. In the derby it was only one, all in all a good result for the state of form and what we saw on the pitch. And that’s the problem. Milan seemed to play not for a draw, but even for one honorable defeat, if you can call that a derby passed to suffer. He showed up on the field with 3-5-2 never seen before, totally renounced, with Divock Origi in man-up marking Hakan Calhanogluprovincial stuff, and his best man, Lion, on the bench. First don’t take them, but practically never give them. He didn’t break down one iota even after Lautaro’s goal, he continued to defend the disadvantage, and we can say that he succeeded. Little consolation, indeed none.
Yesterday’s derby is worse than the worst defeat. Even the 0-3 in Italian Super Cup that so many mockery had procured. Because Milan had played it there, or at least had tried to do so. Not this time. Yes is distorted. Pioli has denied his module, his ideas, his spirit. All. He gave himself up definitively crisis, whose reasons at this point will have to be thoroughly investigated, starting with the coach, who really seems to have lost the thread of his team. After the latest outings, Pioli was only asked for more solidity, don’t give up playing football completely. And when a manager who has played practically only one way for the past three years, completely changes formation on the most important night, he is either a genius or simply desperate. The suspicion, for Pioli, is that it is the second. Milan has lost him, and this risks being the match that condemns him. Because a derby can also be lost. You can’t not play.