AC Milan and Inter Milan played out an eventful 0-0 draw on Tuesday in the Coppa Italia semifinal first leg as neither team could take advantage in the initial 90 minutes of this tie. Milan were the better side throughout and had the opportunities to win, but their precision was off when it mattered most, allowing Inter to take a draw that they probably didn't deserve in the end. While Inter failed to impress, they should be the ones who exit this game with a higher feeling of optimism considering what could have been, being thankful they are still alive.
The reigning Serie A champs entered this match on a scoring drought, and it continued. Milan had 13 shots in the game but put only three on frame while Inter put just two of their seven shots on frame. In fact, Inter have now failed to score on their last 69 shots in all competitions. Inter have now gone four complete matches without a goal, stretching their goalless drought to a staggering 403 minutes.
Here's a look at their production or lack thereof:
Most recent opponents | Shots | Goals | Result |
---|---|---|---|
AC Milan | 7 | 0 | 0-0 draw |
Genoa | 21 | 0 | 0-0 draw |
Sassuolu | 29 | 0 | 2-0 loss |
Liverpool | 9 | 0 | 2-0 loss |
Napoli | 8 | 1 | 1-1 draw |
Inter have scored multiple goals in a game just twice since mid-December, and while these are all negatives, at least they enter the second leg with a fighting chance. The match is set for April 20 on Paramount+, and that will give them plenty of times to correct things. Though if they want to remain in the Serie A title race, that improvement needs to come quick. The defense hasn't been all that bad, but in attack both Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez have fallen off the face of earth. Their cohesion is gone, they are being overpowered time and time again and Martinez seems to just be in this funk where nothing goes right.
The good thing is, when they get their good vibes back, the potential is there to win this cup and Serie A. They were the best team in Italy for the first half of the season, and the story was, "How could Inter be better without Antonio Conte, Romelu Lukaku and others?" Now the question is, "Do they really have enough to win trophies?" The weeks ahead will teach us plenty, but we may not have to wait long to truly find out. Inter have a quick turn around, playing last-place Salernitana on Friday. A big win there could really jump-start the second half of their season, get the confidence back in attack and have them better prepared for the second leg.
They weren't ready for this match, and they're fortunate to be leveled. If they can get it together soon, the chance at silverware may just be there waiting.
But how did each player perform in this one? Here are our player ratings for the match for every starter, substitute and manager. All ratings are out of 10, and the higher the number the better. A zero would be a first-minute red card. A 10 would be like a dominant hat trick.
AC Milan ratings
Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
(GK) Mike Maignan | 90 | Sturdy as always. He really didn't have much to worry about, and he was a bit wild in some of his challenges on the ball, but he felt like a sure thing in goal. | 7 |
(DEF) Alessandro Florenzi | 84' | It was a good display from the former AS Roma man as he managed to remain composed on the right, pass the ball with precision and provide a bit of juice on both ends of the pitch. | 8 |
(DEF) Fikayo Tomori | 90 | Dealt well with Lautaro Martinez and was consistently aware as to what was around him. He stepped up after Alessio Romagnoli's injury. A leader. | 7 |
(DEF) Alessio Romagnoli | 26 | Lasted less than a half-hour due to injury. | N/A |
(DEF) Theo Hernandez | 90 | He was everywhere. Nearly scored on a brilliant run in the first half, but his contributions going forward evaporated as the match went on. Needs to be more consistent. | 7 |
(MID) Ismael Bennacer | 90 | He wasn't blowing anybody away, and he took a couple nasty knocks, but the effort in the middle, the grit and determination, it rubbed off on his team. A real bright spot. | 7.5 |
(MID) Franck Kessie | 90 | Composed and calm, he helped set the tone in the middle with graceful, smart passes. He would have liked to have gotten forward more, but he helped link to the attack with smart passes wide. | 7 |
(MID) Alexis Saelemaekers | 67 | Up and down. He was much better in the first half and looked like a threat. He had a fantastic chance on a rebound where his placement was just off. He should have scored. | 7 |
(MID) Rade Krunic | 67 | His contributions in attack were very minimal. Where he made the biggest impact was in defense, applying pressure all night on Marcelo Brozovic. | 6 |
(FWD) Rafael Leao | 67 | A step quicker than everybody else. He recorded eight successful dribbles and just always looked like he was about to score. The shooting was off, but everything else was there. | 7 |
(FWD) Olivier Giroud | 90 | Had just one shot and didn't come close to making the impact he had in their last meeting where he scored twice. The hold-up play was good, but had little else to offer. | 5 |
Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Pierre Kalulu | Romagnoli (26') | A strong, assertive display off the bench from the young Frenchman. Looked quick to the ball and used his strength to give Inter nothing. | 7.5 |
Ante Rebic | Leao (67') | Quiet off the bench in replacing Leao. Never got into dangerous positions and just seemed a step slow. | 5 |
Brahim Diaz | Krunic (67') | The young playmaker came on but didn't get on the ball much, taking just 17 touches. He just didn't have the opportunity to create. | 5 |
Junior Messias | Saelemaekers (67') | The Brazilian had one shot in his short cameo but was never played into a spot where he could change the game. | 5 |
Davide Calabria | Florenzi (84') | Florenzi was out of fuel, and Calabria came in and did enough, keeping shape, passing smartly and applying pressure. | 6 |
Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Stefano Pioli | 5 | He knows they should have won that game. Now all to play for in the second leg. Those wasted chances will sting, especially considering Inter are just in a bad run of form. Opportunity missed. | 5 |
Inter Milan ratings
Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
(GK) Samir Handanovic | 90 | He saved his team whenever he was called to make a save and he delivered. He's not responsible for the turbulent moment his teammates are experiencing as of late. | 6 |
(DEF) Milan Skriniar | 90 | Careful and didn't make mistakes. One of the few that's continuosly performing well as he was able to contain the AC Milan strikers. | 6 |
(DEF) Stefan de Vrij | 90 | AC Milan didn't do much as well especially in the second half but de Vrij was a bit better compared to the last matches. | 6 |
(DEF) Alessandro Bastoni | 90 | He's underperforming generally and again showed that in the first leg. He has not been the same player compared to the first part of the season. He left too much space to Saelemaekers. | 5 |
(MID) Denzel Dumfries | 88 | He played against Theo Hernandez, who is one of the best left backs in the world, and didn't suffer. He honestly couldn't do much more on the night. | 6 |
(MID) Nicolò Barella | 65 | A disappointing performance from the Italian midfielder who is currently showing all the problems of this team in the last month. Few ideas and all of them confused. | 5 |
(MID) Marcelo Brozovic | 90 | The team is not running like before and this definitely has an impact on his performances. He can't do much on his own to solve the problems that this team currently has. | 5 |
(MID) Hakan Calhanoglu | 90 | He suffered more compared to the last derbies against his former team. He tried to do something on the attacking side but had little-to-no impact. | 5 |
(MID) Ivan Perisic | 88 | We should expect more from him, as he wasn't at his best. Florenzi and Saelemaekers made his game really difficult defensively. | 5 |
(FWD) Lautaro Martinez | 65 | Another bad game from the Argentine striker who has failed to score in the last two months in all competitions. A trend that needs to be changed as soon as possible. | 4 |
(FWD) Edin Dzeko | 79 | Similar to Martinez, he put together another dud as he deserves some of the blame for their scoring drought. He tried to work for the team, as always, but couldn't help find any solutions in the attacking phase. | 5 |
Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Arturo Vidal | Nicolò Barella (65') | Tried his best to help his teammates but it wasn't enough. Acceptable performance overall. | 6 |
Alexis Sanchez | Lautaro Martinez (65') | Right now this team is not helping him succeed, but he needs to do something more. | 5 |
Joaquin Correa | Edin Dzeko (79') | Few touches, all wrong basically. | 5 |
Matteo Darmian | Denzel Dumfries (88') | Late substitution from Simone Inzaghi. | N/A |
Robin Gosens | Ivan Perisic (88') | Finally healthy, he made a brief debut for his new club. | N/A |
Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | |
Simone Inzaghi | 5 | Impressive how this team has stumbled as of late and failed to score in the last 400-plus minutes. He really needs to turn things up, before it will be too late for the title race. | 5 |