Dark Arts

Goran Pandev

Inter 0 Milan 1

Allegri has brought an immense amount of industry to this chic Milan side. A team famous for classy football has now morphed into something of an engine that chugs efficiently with preset objectives. Allegri has implemented this industry by changing the face of the midfield. He now plays 3 hard men in central midfield. One of these sits right in front of the defense whilst the other two cover several blades of grass. The rugged tactic has considerably reduced Pirlo's importance to the current team bringing more dynamism into the play.

One can only imagine how nervous Ibrahimovic would have been facing the Curva Nord on the penalty. Yet he dispatched his penalty quite confidently. Benitez had chosen to go with a 3 man wide attack to try and exploit the fullbacks of Milan. Eto'o hugged the touchline but Abate's pace always slowed the Cameroonian down allowing Gattuso to track back and double man-mark the hitman. Inter played a deep line giving Milan plenty of room in midfield. AC Milan dominated proceedings for the first 25 minutes or so with Inter providing very little resilience. Allegri's solid 3 man midfield was blunting Sneijder and giving him very little space to move or create an opening. He was watched closely for most of the game. Inter were a bit fortunate with Obi's injury which allowed Coutinho to enter the game. The young Brazilian was the stimulus that sparked Inter's renaissance, giving them something extra in midfield. Gattuso's tackles were typically rough and the veteran should consider himself highly fortunate not to have seen red. Abate had a stellar half. Yes, he picked up a card in the first half, but it was arguably his best performance in defense for Milan. Positionally and tactically, he was top class.

Benitez shuffled things around after the break. An absolutely woeful Milito took the bench as Pandev was thrown into the fray. Pirlo entered the game for the departing Gattuso. Materazzi, who had been given charge to marshal Ibrahimovic had failed miserably. Therefore, Lucio took up the responsibility and succeeded in taming the big Swede. Just then, Pandev performs a bit of dark magic. He entices Abate to react and gets the full back sent off! Milan reduced to 10 men due to some dirty tactical play from Inter which is distinctly characteristic of them. It did appear that Flamini's influence on the game had dropped in the second half. He did make the darting runs into the box but wasn't very effective in defense, which is a shame given he wasn't carded and should have been more physical. Robinho and Flamini ran circles around the Inter midfielders and caused a great amount of distraction by drawing players away, creating more space for the likes of Ibrahimovic and Seedorf. Silva-Nesta looked superb all night and the midfielders weren't running short of legs. Kevin Prince was introduced to add more graft in midfield and that tightened up the spaces forcing the Inter players to try their luck from distance. Antonini however was having trouble with the pace and skill of Biabiany on the right. He was constantly faked and permitted several crosses to be floated into the box. In the end, Milan showed great character and spirit to close the game and get the vital win. We now sit six points clear of Inter!

Inter - /
Milan - Ibrahimovic 5' pen