AC Milan needed to respond after losing to Liverpool in the Champions League opening game, and Rossoneri manager Paulo Fonseca needed it to save his job after a poor start to the season. AC Milan won 2-1 in the first Derby della Madonnina of the season against Inter on Sunday thanks to the goals of USMNT winger Christian Pulisic and the deciding one of defender Matteo Gabbia. It’s a big victory that might now completely overturn the future of the Portuguese coach.
The Rossoneri had a solid game and deserved to win the game after a strong start of star Pulisic, who immediately opened the score and showed again why he’s having one of the best moments of his career so far. Inter, after drawing away against Manchester City on Wednesday, reacted and then found the equalizer with Federico Dimarco, also thanks to a wonderful assist from club captain Lautaro Martinez.
Inter needed something different in the second half after a balanced first 45 minutes. On the other hand, it was again AC Milan who dominated the second part of the game and had at least three big chances to score the winning goal with Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham. They had to wait until minute 88 to see defender Gabbia score the winning goal of the derby, the first that the Rossoneri have won since 2022 as Inter had won the last six matches against the city rivals.
While Simone Inzaghi tried to revolutionize his side and changed the whole midfield in the second half, the tactics of Fonseca worked out well as the Portuguese manager made a tactical change and played with a 4-4-2, with Pulisic and Leao playing on the wings and two central strikers (Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham) playing in front. The tactical change worked out and confused the Inter coach, who was furious on the bench as his team couldn’t react properly in front of the AC Milan attacks.
AC Milan fans can now finally celebrate their first derby win in two years, but most importantly they can see with positive eyes their future under Fonseca, who struggled in his first games at the club but the win against Inter can give him a big boost for the upcoming clashes. The Nerazzurri, on the other hand, need to react next week against Udinese, after failing to win the last two games against Monza and AC Milan. Inzaghi knows that in soccer the memory is short and the only game that counts is the next, as it happened with Fonseca on the other side of the river.
