Janu\ry 28, 2010
Italian Serie A - Inter Defeats Milan, 2-0
By Stephen Lars
FC Internazionale reaffirmed its leading position in the Italian Serie A after beating AC Milan 2-0 on the 21st day of the Italian league.
The win brought Inter 49 points, increasing its advantage over Milan, the closest pursuers with 40 points. Milan’s chances of reaching the Scudetto are slowing slipping away.
The derby was loaded with intensity from the first minute. The Nerazzurri took full control of their area, giving no chance for their rivals to advance. The home team immediately began to apply pressure, and the visitors responded; thus the match began fairly evenly.
However, it wasn’t long before AC Milan was left unable to avoid its opponents’ attacks. Ten minutes into the game, Internazionale opened the scoring, thanks to a goal from Diego Milito.
The Argentine striker took advantage of midfielder Ignazio Abate’s inability to stop him. With the ball in his control and without any obstacles in the way, Milito advanced quickly to his opponents’ area and, with a powerful left shot, thrust the ball into the Rossoneri’s net.
With the scoreboard in its favor, Inter increased the pressure on AC Milan, forcing the visiting team to lose its concentration. Milan was left unable to react.
In the midst of the action, Wesley Sneijder, Inter midfielder, earned a red card from the referee and was excluded from the game.
After Sneijder’s exclusion, the game continued with Inter attacks and Milan defense. The rest of the first half saw little variation in this patter; no plays represented a real threat. So, without any changes in the scoring, the first half ended 1-0.
In the second half, Leonardo, manager of the Rossonero team, attempted to change the tempo of the game. He tried to offer more support for his players, replacing Gennaro Gattuso with Clarence Sedorf, an effort that initially appeared to work. Milano was finally able to create several good plays.
But shortly thereafter, AC Milan, despite their numerical superiority, began to lose their offensive abilities, suffering because of the absence of some of the stronger players.
Inter, in contrast, was able to maintain control, the players defending well while attacking with several dangerous plays.
At this point, the weight of the game fell to Milito. The striker was able to fulfill his task of defending the team, running the ball and putting pressure on his rivals. His strong performance earned him recognition as the player of the match.
Milan’s performance, on the other hand, simply deteriorated. The players lost strength in the attack, made ineffective passes and offered poor shots. The local offensive, in turn, simply became more powerful. Inter players took advantage of their superiority to increase the score – at minute 65, Goran Pandev brought the score to 2-0.
With the second goal, Milan became completely destabilized, playing a simple game on the center of the pitch.
Finally, near the end of the match, Milan had the chance to open their score. However, the incredible performance of Julio Cesar, Inter’s goalkeeper, stopped Milan cold. The Brazilian rejected a shot from Dutchman Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar and then a penalty from Ronaldinho in the last seconds of the game. Inter took the game, 2-0.
About the Author
Stephen Lars has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.