AC Milan 1-1 Inter: Five things we learned – contrasting performances

SempreMilan

·3 April 2025

AC Milan 1-1 Inter: Five things we learned – contrasting performances

Following the defeat to Napoli in Serie A, AC Milan’s hopes of a top-four finish decreased dramatically, so the focus shifted to the Coppa Italia and, in turn, the Europa League.

Despite Milan’s poor form over the season, they have actually managed to play really well against their city rivals. However, the Rossoneri’s general form is at an all-time low for this season, whilst Inter have picked up the pace as of late, so the game was never going to be easy.

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The first half was fairly even, with Inter having more of the ball and Milan trying to make something happen on the counter, but the Diavolo didn’t really threaten their opponents all that much.

In the second half, however, Sergio Conceicao’s side came out sharper than their city rivals and scored the opener just two minutes into the half through Tammy Abraham, after a lovely dummy and finish by the Englishman.

Milan then defended well enough, but in the 67th minute, Calhanoglu managed to score from outside of the box after the Rossoneri fell asleep – nobody marked the Turk, allowing him to take his time and place his shot in the bottom corner.

Following the equaliser, Inter tried to push a little, but ultimately that led to nothing with the Diavolo having a couple of chances of their own, but in the end it was all square and the finalist will be decided in the reverse fixture.

Here are five things we learned from the game:

1. Milan can still play football

The Rossoneri have been dreadful to watch recently, but there are moments where they hint at what they are capable of and against Inter, it was one of those nights.

It helped that a lot of players who have been struggling as of late actually turned up – Mike Maignan, Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana really stepped up and helped their side be more compact in the defensive phase with the keeper making crucial saves.

Then, up front, Abraham didn’t squander any chances this time around and made several good runs before his goal, too.

Leao was also up for the challenge, although he had to deal with two or three players marking him, so he wasn’t as efficient. Nevertheless, the fact that he occupied so many players meant Milan had space elsewhere to attack.

The mistakes at the back were also limited, and even though Jimenez and Pulisic did not really contribute, they didn’t prevent the Rossoneri from getting a positive result.

The same attitude is needed for the reverse fixture, and it’s not really far-fetched to see the Rossoneri reaching the final. It would end up being a very confusing season if Milan were to lift 2 trophies, all whilst struggling so much in Serie A and the Champions League.

2. Abraham should continue from the start

The Englishman got his chance with Santiago Gimenez struggling to contribute, and he took it well enough with a lovely taken goal and good overall performance prior to the goal itself, which should really earn him at least a couple more starts.

He now has four goals and an assist in 3 games in the Coppa Italia, as he seems to be the Rossoneri’s talisman in the competition this year, and Conceicao will hope that continues.

This brings up the question as to whether or not the management should consider buying him in the summer, as he is currently on loan, and whilst he has had some poor performances, he pretty much has shown he can be a fairly reliable back-up or even starter.

Image: AC Milan

So, considering all of this, the decision to bring him permanently seems logical, especially if the price is right.

3. Duo impress

Reijnders has been one of Milan’s best players this season, but he too has had a dip in form as of late. Against Inter, though, he was set to make it right, and he did with a nice performance.

On top of his passing, he was a constant threat for Inter as his movements were dangerous and his dribbling allowed him to find spaces to shoot from distance, which did cause trouble for the Nerazzurri. It’s a real pleasure to watch the Dutchman when he’s on his game.

His partner did not disappoint either, as he finally had a good game after months of struggles. Fofana recovered a lot of balls on the night, using his physicality pretty well in most cases, and his passing wasn’t too bad either. He kept it simple, and it worked wonders for most of the game, and this was arguably his best performance, at least in the past 3 or 4 months.

4. The defence did well

Nothing spectacular, but the 4 defenders at the back did enough to contain Inter for the majority of the game with none of them making any serious mistakes.

5. Pulisic and Jimenez disappoint

The two weren’t particularly bad, but at the end of the day, they didn’t produce anything worth mentioning in attack, which was their main job. Pulisic moved well between the lines, but the fact that he usually doesn’t play in the position was obvious as he struggled to be as efficient as he usually is.

He arguably was at fault for the second goal too, as he should’ve been somewhere around the Turkish midfielder, but instead he dropped too deep and Calhanoglu was left all alone, which in the end was a communication mistake, but Puli should’ve done better.

Jimenez also wasn’t great at the back with a few sloppy fouls, one of which was in a dangerous position, and he didn’t track as much as he should’ve, or at least that was the feeling.