Despite the fact that we are at just the fifth Serie A matchday, the first Derby della Madonnina of the season between Inter Milan and AC Milan will tell us a lot about these two sides when they meet on Saturday (12 p.m. ET on Paramount+). The two clubs entertained all season long last year as the Scudetto race was decided only in the last 90 minutes when AC Milan won against Sassuolo away from home. The Nerazzurri had an amazing first part of the year, but it was the derby on Feb. 5 that changed things. Thanks to an incredible comeback in the second half with a brace scored by Olivier Giroud in less than five minutes, Stefano Pioli's started to close the gap with their rivals and in a few weeks, they became leaders of the Serie A table without losing any match until the end of the season.
Things are now slightly different. Both sides made some changes in the summer and they still have to find a new identity after the transfer window closed. For these reasons, despite that we are still in the early stages of the season, this is a kind of match that can speed up or slow down the process of both teams. Starting this week they will also have to play every three days because of the start of the UEFA Champions League's group stage that will last until the first week of November when competitions will stop for the 2022 World Cup.
It's about to pick up big time, and these teams have big questions to answer moving forward:
Paramount+ is the only place to watch every minute of every Serie A match this season, not to mention select games in Italian. Sign up now with offer code ITALY to get a special one month free trial. A subscription also gives you access to other sports content including every UEFA Champions League and Europa League match, the NFL on CBS, and countless movies and shows. Get it all free for one month with promo code ITALY.
Why Pioli needs to win
Pioli started off the new Serie A season with two wins against Udinese and Bologna and two draws against Atalanta and Sassuolo. More than the results, AC Milan fans are kind of worried about the way the team played in the first matches. Despite new signing Charles De Ketelaere, who is definitely one of the most interesting talents around Italian soccer, the squad lacked some creativity on the attacking side of the field. Milan played in a very similar way to the past season, but key player Rafael Leao still has yet to show his best, and that's one of the reasons why they are now underperforming a bit.
Also, Pioli doesn't have Franck Kessie anymore after he left for Barcelona. His presence on and off the pitch was definitely one of the reasons for last season's success, winning the league after a decade-long drought. Also, injuries are creating some issues on the right side, that's why AC Milan decided to sign American international Sergiño Dest on Deadline Day. The former Barcelona player might also become an option as a backup winger, considering the fact that both Junior Messias and Alexis Saelemaekers are underperforming in these first matches. Winning against Inter Milan would give a boost to AC Milan's hopes for the current season after a start that underlined some issues that were not expected at this stage. Pioli is fully aware of it and the Derby della Madonnina is the perfect chance to change the morale of the fans after the first few games.
Why Inzaghi needs to win
Inter Milan fans are worried after the first matches of the new season. Despite the results (one loss and three wins), the team showed some defensive issues, with key players Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni who are not in their best form yet. Considering the super challenging UEFA Champions League group stage (Inter will play against Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen), the Nerazzurri need to focus already on the Serie A title race, and the first matches showed that Simone Inzaghi still needs to improve some aspects of his team.
Romelu Lukaku's injury slowed down the process to integrate him in the tactics of the team and as a consequence, Inzaghi will count on the strikers that he had last year like Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Edin Dzeko. The club decided to keepSkriniar this summer despite PSG's interest, and Inzaghi's former player at Lazio, Francesco Acerbi, was the last signing of Inter Milan to replace former captain Andrea Ranocchia, who left in the summer before joining AC Monza. Fans are supporting the team and the coach, but after losing against Lazio some critics came out about the way the coach handled the rotations, especially his decision to bench Hakan Calhanoglu for Roberto Gagliardini. Winning against AC Milan would be fundamental for the coach to once again gain the full trust of the fanbase, considering also that next week Inter Milan will make the UCL debut at home against Bayern Munich.
