AC Milan vs Inter: Game analysis and preview

Timothy Jesuyemi

32 days ago

The Milan brothers are set to rub eyeballs in the last four of the UEFA Champions League over a doubleheader semi-final fixture. San Siro would see two captivating Milan derbies breeze over it within the space of a week.

No Italian side has reached the semi-final of the Champions League since AS Roma in 2018, knocking out Barcelona 4-4 on aggregate(due to away goals) to set up a meeting with Liverpool which they eventually lost. AC Milan and Inter broke that jinx when both sides punched their tickets through to the semi-finals of the competition. Milan went through their Italian neighbours, Napoli in the quarter-final, beating the Ciucciarelli 2-1 on the overall while Inter defeated Benfica 5-3 on aggregate to also progress alongside their city rivals.

INTER MILAN

Nerazzuri are in the semi-finals for the first time since 2010 when they succesfully hoisted the trophy, by beating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was a treble winning season for Inter and Jose Mourinho was the mastermind behind their rise to stardom.

Since then, the club have not progressed beyond the quarter-final stage. In their Champions League defence campaign, they were knocked out 3-7 on aggregate by Schalke 04 with just eight teams to go in the competition and in the succeeding campaign, Marseille got the better of them, advancing via away goals, having played 2-2 in the tie.

For the next six seasons, the blue side of Milan were absentees from the Champions League and only returned to the stage in 2018/19, however suffering a disappointing group-stage exit after a brilliant start to their campaign. They finally breached the preliminary wall in 2021/22, facing Liverpool in the last-16 last season, a tie which ended in a 2-1 loss on the overall.

Inter are finally back where they began prior to an upset they caused Barcelona thirteen years ago in the semis. They did the same this season in the group-stages, qualifying at the expense of the five-time Champions League winners. Inzaghi’s side ran through Portugal’s Porto and Benfica but can they further hurdle past a determined Milan side.

AC MILAN

Just like their city rivals, Rossoneri are hoping to land their first UCL final in a very long time. Since winning the trophy in 2007, the best Milan have done is make the quarter-finals and that came back in 2012. The club made the knock-out stages of the competition this season for the first time since the 2013/14 season when they lost to Atletico Madrid. A return to Europe’s top tier last season saw Milan fade away in the group-stage while Atletico and Liverpool went through.

Milan’s road to the semis this season didn’t particularly start with a bang. They drew with Salzburg away from home. Coming off a win against Zagreb, Rossoneri lost both on home and away ground against Chelsea, unable to muster a single goal in both ties. Two heavy wins against the rest of the group ensured they moved out as runners-up, taking ten points in six games. They ran through a disoriented Tottenham side in the last-16 before defeating Napoli in the next round, despite the Ciucciarelli’s dominance in the Serie A.

Rossoneri are seven-time champions of the continental competition. A two-legged victory over Inter would see them progress to the finals where they will be hoping to step beyond the perfect number and claim what makes an octet of Champions League trophies in their cabinet.

AC MILAN VS INTER MILAN KEY STATS

Rossoneri are unbeaten in their last nine fixtures in all competitions while Inter have won the past five and have not lost any in six.
Milan have not scored more than a goal per game in the knock-out stages this year.
Inter have conceded just one goal in their past five games across the board.
In the past ten fixtures between both teams, Milan have won three, drawn twice while Inter have recorded five victories.
Both sides have met thrice this year. Inter have won twice(3-0, 1-0) while Milan have won once(3-2).