It is an even more prestigious Madonnina derby than usual which awaits the two Milanese clubs on Saturday (6:00 p.m.): Inter, leader of the Italian Championship, receives AC Milan, its runner-up, and many, at starting with Milan star recruit Christian Pulisic, see it as a first turning point in the title race.
At 24, and from his fourth match in Italy, Pulisic will discover the very special atmosphere of one of the most anticipated matches of the season in Serie A. “I have already played in some of the most famous stadiums in the world , but San Siro is undoubtedly one of the most impressive,” the American international explained to Gazzetta dello Sport this week. “A derby is perfect for determining who is the best team,” insisted the former Dortmund and Chelsea player. We can have confidence for the title, but we must continue to work and play as we have played so far.
Under the distant gaze of the Madonnina, this sculpture of the Virgin Mary which sits on the Duomo, Milan Cathedral, and 70,000 fans, the 238th edition of the Milanese derby pits the two best Serie A teams of the moment, the two best championship scorers, Olivier Giroud (4 goals) and Lautaro Martinez (5). Pulisic, who arrived at AC Milan this summer from Chelsea for 20 million euros, has the enormous advantage of not having experienced the 2022-23 season in the red and black jersey, an exercise where Milan was martyred by Inter with four defeats in five confrontations, including two in the semi-finals of the Champions League (2-0 in the first leg and 1-0 in the return).
In these four matches, Inter have scored seven goals, without conceding a single one. “On the pitch, the past adds nothing,” said Simone Inzaghi, Inter coach, on Friday at a press conference. “I don’t care about the last derbies and the past, what interests me is the future and Saturday’s derby,” added his AC Milan counterpart, Stefano Pioli, who will be able to count on Giroud, yet released following a shock during France-Ireland on September 7. The two teams, the only two to have managed a full nine points in three days, have another thing in common in having aroused a lot of skepticism in the off-season.
On the Inter side, no less than 12 departures, including goalkeeper Andre Onana, offset by the arrivals in particular of French internationals Marcus Thuram and Benjamin Pavard. For its part, AC Milan carried out an expensive recruitment campaign to rejuvenate its workforce with Pulisic, Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. “Before the start of the championship, we said that Inter had lost a lot of quality and now we say that we are going to win the Champions League,” smiled Inzaghi who led Inter to the C1 final (defeat 1- 0 against Manchester City) and won the Italian Cup for the second year in a row. “We will see on the pitch if this team is better than last year or not. This match is important and we will do everything to win it, but it is only the start of the season,” he said. The former Italian international can, if successful, enter the glorious history of this derby: Inter have never beaten their great Milan rival five times in a row.
