Zlatan Ibrahimovic condemns Inter Milan to defeat in Milan Derby
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the ex-striker of Inter Milan scored a 5th minute penalty to clinch three points for the Rossoneri as some 78,000 fans looked on. The match was dominated by AC Milan since the beginning and even before the penalty, had a chance
to go ahead after Clarence Seedorf couldn’t direct his header goalwards following some good work down the flank by Abate. The Rossoneri didn’t had to wait long for a goal though and in the fifth minute, the 37 year old Italian defender Marco Matterazi tripped
the Swedish striker to give away a penalty. Ibrahimovic himself took the penalty and coolly converted it to hand his side a deserved lead against his former side.
Ibrahimovic could have then doubled the lead when he smashed a volley just over the bar and then teed up Mathieu Flamini who looked certain to score but for a last ditch tackle by Ivan Córdoba. Milan then thought that they had gained a two goal cushion when
Ibrahimovic played in Robinho who placed the ball past stand-in Inter Milan goalkeeper. The referee disallowed the strike and blew his whistle for offside. Replays showed that he had made the correct decision as the striker had made his run a little too early.
Inter Milan had pockets of dominance in the match. Substitute Philippe Coutinho, who replaced the injured Obi, struck a fierce shot just wide of the goalpost. Wesley Sneijder then smashed his free kick into the side netting but Inter Milan had to settle
for a one goal deficit to take into half time.
At half time, both sides made a change each. Inter coach Rafa Benitez opted to replace the virtually invisible striker, Diego Milito for Goran Pandev as he tried to infuse some pace and width into his side’s attack. Massimo Allegri, on the other hand, withdrew
defensive midfielder Genaro Gattuso who was in risk of getting sent off after already having received a yellow card and replaced him with midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo. Inter Milan continued to try and equalize at the restart and would have scored had it not
been for a wonderful two handed save by AC Milan keeper Christian Abbiati, who saved Sneijder’s 35-yard free kick. Inter were trying their best but were being thwarted by the defence of AC Milan.
However, on the hour mark, AC Milan were down to ten men when right-back Abate was ordered off the pitch after picking up a second yellow card. Inter then pressed forward and their substitutes tried their best to unlock the Rossoneri defence. Sneijder threatened
with yet another long range strike and Dejan Stankovic also tried his luck from outside. Inter continued to commit more and more men forward in attack. This strategy almost back-fired when Milan broke quickly and launched a counter attack that culminated in
Clarence Seedorf’s shot missing the goal by mere inches.
At 1-0, Inter Milan would have been dead and buried but luckily they still had just a one goal deficit to counter with almost 25 minutes left. Inter continued to attack and sent cross upon cross towards the AC Milan goal but could not find a goal. The final
15 minutes were played entirely in the Rossoneri half as Inter tried to find the crucial equalizing goal. They had almost all the possession but lacked creativity. Their final ball always lacked edge which allowed AC Milan to clear their lines and the match
ended with a 1-0 score line.
This loss to AC Milan ended Inter’s unbeaten home record that had been maintained since Jose Mourinho left for Real Madrid. Inter Milan are now in 6th position with 20 points after 12 games. The win takes AC Milan to the top of the table with
26 points.
Next up for Inter is a trip to Chievo where they will try to get their title defence back on track by securing three points. Milan, on the other hand, face Fiorentina who are in a patch of bad form but possess the class to set up a potentially difficult
match.
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