AC Milan 3-1 Internazionale
AC Milan manager Ruben Amorim marked his first Derby della Madonnina with a convincing victory over city rivals Internazionale at San Siro on Saturday evening.
The Portuguese boss saw his side make a blistering start, going 2-0 up inside ten minutes through Christian Pulisic and Adrien Rabiot. Alessandro Bastoni replied for Inter (22’) but Diego Moreira’s stunning free kick shortly before half time restored Milan’s two-goal advantage, after which the Rossoneri confidently controlled Inter’s threat in the second half.
The evening was hugely positive for Amorim for a number of reasons beyond the obvious thrill of beating the champions and Milan’s biggest rivals in his first derby. The team also recovered from Amorim’s first league defeat against Bologna (2-4) in midweek, while former Portugal youth international Diego Moreira, who has since switched to Belgium, is justifying his acquisition over the summer.
Moreira assisted both of Milan’s early goals, before scoring himself from a free-kick at a crucial moment. Milan paid Strasbourg a €45m fixed fee +€20m in add-ons, but while Gonçalo Ramos has struggled to make an impact in Serie A following another goalless outing, Moreira has adapted seamlessly to the Italian league with 7 goal involvements (four goals and three assists) from just 4 starts and 2 substitute appearances.
“Ruben dismantles Chivu..” Wrote Corriere dello Sport on Sunday, while fellow heavyweight publication La Gazzetta dello Sport used the word “dominant” to describe Amorim against his opposite number and Tuttosport claimed the Portuguese produced a “masterpiece” in their write-up.
Speaking to the media after the match, Amorim expressed his delight but advocated for calm heads. “I was happy with a lot of things, we started really well, they are very strong in the air, but we changed the way we addressed the game, I think compared to other games, we are improving,
“In the second half, we maintained the ball, we were really good on that, Luka Modric helped a lot on that. It was not an amazing game, but it’s an amazing night for our fans and it was important for us to win this after Wednesday so we can move forward.
“I am here and thinking about Bologna, what we and I should’ve done. It’s an amazing night for the fans, but we have to focus on the next one.
Different to any other derby - Amorim
“The environment is amazing, the passion, it’s completely different to any derby I experienced. I am really happy for the players, the fans gain a little more confidence in the project.
“We are going to have amazing nights like this, and we are going to have bad moments like against Bologna. That is part of the process. It’s good to win these games to explain to the fans that this is a process and it’s going to take time.”
Amorim replies to Top Gun reference
Amorim’s side moved into 5th place with the victory, which reasserts Milan as contenders for a Champions League spot. Club leader Gerry Cardinale has openly admitted his long-term goal of winning the Serie A title, while his loyalty to Amorim was expressed after the Bologna defeat with a movie reference.
“I have full faith in him,” Cardinale said ahead of the derby. “At the end of ’Top Gun’ -- ’my’ movie -- Tom Cruise says a great line: ’I’m not leaving my wingman.’ And I’m not leaving Ruben.
“He is in no danger whatsoever. I will stand by his side. I won’t make the mistakes made in recent years. He is my manager, and we’ll keep working together until we manage to make the step up. You can’t win if you keep switching managers. I chose Amorim.”
Asked about the future, Amorim addressed the quote, but admitted it will be difficult to accelerate the title ambitions to this season. Milan are seven points behind surprise leaders Lazio after ten rounds of action, with one more league outing away to Genoa next week before the international break.
“It is impossible to change everything in one day,” Amorim said. “I can say I’m really happy, really proud of my players, but I am already thinking about the next one.
“We are going to be a very good team, but it’s going to take time. The goal is always like Mr Cardinale said to win the Scudetto, but we have to be really honest, it’s going to be very hard to win the Scudetto in the first year.
“We are going to fight in every game and our goal at Milanello is returning to win the Scudetto. Top Gun is a great movie, in the first one, the wingman died, so I will try to focus more on the second one…”
