How the derby unfolded
Inter’s evening at San Siro was effectively decided early. They [1], and the defeat was their first in Serie A this season. [2]. Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back, but Diego Moreira’s free kick restored the two-goal cushion.
Moreira was the match’s dominant figure. [3], which made the press review’s headline about the winger fitting. Milan had arrived after a 4-2 home defeat to Bologna, yet they regained Rabiot, Moreira and Gila and looked sharper for it.
For Inter the result also extended an unwelcome pattern. The same report notes that they have [1]. Earlier wins over Fiorentina and Venezia had already shown the strain: [4]. Against a motivated Milan, that margin for error disappeared. Inter have also not beaten their city rivals since April 2024.
An attack stripped back
The selection problem was clear before kick-off. [5], and Chivu then lost his other striking options to illness. Francesco Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny were both ill with fever. Chivu said a flu bug forced unusual selections, and [1], so Josep Martínez started in goal.
The outcome was a 3-4-2-1 with [5]. Petar Sucic and Andy Diouf played in advanced roles behind him. Chivu had to improvise, and Thuram, who had scored in three straight league games before the derby, was left with little support.
Bonny and Esposito were short of full fitness and were [6], by which point Inter were chasing the game. Beyond Lautaro, the absentee list also included Pavard, Stones, Curtis Jones and Luis Henrique, which left Chivu with very little squad depth to fall back on.
What Inter said afterwards
Nicolò Barella did not blame the system. He [5] rather than Chivu’s tactics, and that fits the shape of the match. A makeshift formation can be defended as a response to illness, but conceding twice in ten minutes points to concentration and duels.
Akanji had spoken before the game about the need to avoid a poor start. He said he felt fit after beginning the Venezia game on the bench, and he [7]. Hakan Calhanoglu had also warned against being drawn into provocation. Neither message held once Milan scored twice early.
The damage is limited. Inter remain unbeaten before this match in the league, and Milan’s win only [8]. The concern is less the single defeat than the repeated slow starts and a thin attack that the next fixtures will test.
What it means
Inter sit second in Serie A with 25 points from 10 games: eight wins, one draw and one defeat, with 26 goals scored and 13 conceded. Those numbers still describe a strong start. The league form before the derby was good: wins over Bologna (3-1), Fiorentina (2-1) and Venezia (2-0), plus a 1-0 Champions League win against Shakhtar Donetsk. The derby was the first result to break that run.
The next question comes quickly. Inter visit Feyenoord in the Champions League on 3 November, [1]. The site’s forecast for that match locks 24 hours before kick-off, so no prediction is published yet. What the fixture asks is clear enough. Inter need a faster start than they managed at San Siro, and Chivu needs to know whether Bonny, Esposito and Provedel have recovered from illness. Lautaro Martínez is [9], so Thuram probably carries the attack again. If he does, how much support Inter give him will matter more than the formation.
Sources
- Football Italia: Chivu: ‘Inter forced into Milan changes, but still had wrong attitude for a derby’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Video: Emotional Cardinale after Milan derby win: ‘It brings tears to my eyes, those guys are winners’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Today’s Papers – Inter’s derby nightmare goes on, Moreira the king of Milan football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Marotta: ‘Milan vs. Inter an advertisement for Italian football’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Barella: ‘Inter paid for individual and collective mistakes, needed to do better’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Newspapers highlight differences between Amorim and Chivu in Milan’s ‘authoritative’ derby win football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Akanji: ‘Inter can’t afford a poor start vs. Milan, they have to work hard if they want to score’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Milan stars react to derby win over Inter: ‘We can beat anyone, now we can dream’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Milan vs Inter: probable line-ups and where to watch on TV football-italia.net ↩
