Despite waiting until the last minute, head coach Stefano Pioli was unable to include Rafael Leao in the starting lineup for AC Milan in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Giuseppe Meazza. The Portuguese attacker suffered a thigh injury in the Serie A match against Lazio last weekend and was unable to race against time to return to play.
Without this pillar, AC Milan took the field with 36-year-old striker Olivier Giroud playing as the highest striker, surrounded by support from Ismael Bennacer, Brahim Diaz and Alexis Saelemaekers. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the field, Lautaro Martinez and "veteran" Edin Dzeko were the two most formidable attackers in coach Simone Inzaghi's starting lineup.
37-year-old striker Edin Dzelo opened the scoring for Inter Milan
The Milan derby heated up from the first minutes and the audience did not have to wait long to witness the explosion. In the 8th minute, from a left corner kick by Hakan Calhanoglu, Edin Dzeko kicked and finished with one touch, the ball flew into the AC Milan net while goalkeeper Mike Maignan barely had time to react. 1-0 for Inter Milan.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubled the gap for Inter Milan in the 11th minute
Not yet over the shock of the early goal, AC Milan continued to concede a goal just 3 minutes later. Inter launched a quick counter-attack and Federico Dimarco crossed from the left wing for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to quickly run up and shoot beautifully, forcing the opponent's goalkeeper Mike Mainan to go into the net to pick the ball up for the second time. With two early goals, Inter Milan played brilliantly, continuously putting pressure on the opponent's goal. The score would have been raised in the 18th minute if Hakan Calhanoglu's shot had not hit the AC Milan goal post.
The "hundred-year-old" trio Calhanoglu (29), Dzeko (37), Mkhitaryan (34) scored
Stuck without star attacker Rafael Leao, AC Milan also lost a key player quite early when Bennacer was injured and had to leave the field quite early. Worry added to worry, the danger became even heavier when in the 31st minute, the referee determined that center-back Simon Kjaer had fouled Lautaro Martinez and awarded Inter Milan a penalty. Luckily for AC Milan, VAR intervened and the referee reversed this decision.
Hakan Calhanoglu supports Inter Milan's sharp attack
Many personnel adjustments by both teams in the second half, including tactical changes, but no more goals were scored. The most notable situation in the second half of the match was the moment when Edin Dzeko faced goalkeeper Maignan in the 53rd minute but could not finish successfully, while for AC Milan, Sandro Tonali's shot hit the post a few minutes later.
Olivier Giroud is disabled
Sandro Tonali missed a chance to score
Inter Milan's 2-0 win in the Italian derby puts them in a commanding position ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against AC Milan in a week's time.
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