In the San Siro stadium in Milan there is a derby showdown for a place in the Champions League final. Inter are the big favorites – but Milan have not given up yet.
The first finalist of this year’s Champions League will be determined in a city duel. Inter Milan host AC Milan in the second leg of the semi-finals today, after a well-deserved 2-0 win in the first game, Inter are the clear favourites.
Milan, who have been struggling recently, need a little football miracle to prevail against their in-form arch-rivals in the legendary San Siro Stadium.
shape
This clearly speaks for Inter. The Nerazzurri are experiencing the best moment of their season, having recently won seven competitive games in a row with a goal difference of 21:3. “We know our chances,” said defender Francesco Acerbi. “We are ready.”
Milan, on the other hand, have only won two of their last eight competitive games, after losing 2-0 in the first leg, the league dress rehearsal at the weekend was lost 2-0 to Spezia Calcio, a candidate for relegation. The Rossoneri appear to have completely lost their form ahead of the match, dubbed the ‘Euroderby’ in Italy.
Inter’s recipe for success
The nominal hosts can offer their best formation, all top performers are fit and in form. In addition, Inter has what is probably the strongest squad in Italy and, unlike Milan, an almost equal substitute bench: In the first leg, for example, attacker Romelu Lukaku was only a joker, the substitutes hardly cause a drop in performance. DFB national player Robin Gosens is currently only the second choice for coach Simone Inzaghi.
Milan’s hope
This bears the name of Rafael Leão: The Portuguese is one of the best strikers in Italy and has been a success story for AC since last season. In the first leg he was injured. Only with his famous sprints, dribbles and flashes of inspiration should coach Stefano Pioli’s team have a chance to make up for the 0:2. In addition, Milan must hope that Inter is too sure of his cause. “No one thinks we’ll make it to the final,” said the coach. “But nobody believed that we would get this far. We know that we will start with a deficit, but also that we can fix it.”
constellation
Because the away goals rule no longer exists, the starting position is clear: if they win, draw or even lose by just one goal, Inter will be in the Champions League final on June 10 in Istanbul. If Milan succeeds in creating a sensation and a success with a difference of more than two goals, then AC will get the final ticket. A Milan win by two goals means extra time and possibly penalties.
statistics
Milan is experiencing the 237th derby, so far Inter has celebrated 88 wins, Milan 79. The remaining 69 games ended in a draw. Recently Inter was on top, the last three city duels all went to the Nerazzurri. Incidentally, FC Barcelona only experienced four years ago that a supposedly large lead in the semi-finals does not always mean a preliminary decision. The Spaniards had won the first leg 3-0 against Liverpool FC – in the second leg the English made a splendid comeback with a 4-0 win.
Source: Stern
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