Inter Milan 2-0 AC Milan: 5 Players who were brilliant for the Nerazzurri

Inter Milan and AC Milan locked horns on Saturday night for the 224th Derby della Madonnina. The two teams had experienced opposing fortunes of late, yet their rivalry had remained intact.

The Rossoneri endured a difficult start to the new season when they were beaten by Udinese in the opening game. Since then, though, Milan has managed to string together a run of two wins in two and has also managed to keep clean sheets in both the fixtures.

Inter Milan, on the other hand, was the only team in Serie A with a 100% record before Matchday 4, having won each of their first three games. The Nerazzurri had made a few important additions over the summer, including the arrival of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez from Manchester United. Antonio Conte had taken over the reins in the summer and fans were bubbling with expectations already.

Inter Milan Starting XI: Samir Handanović; Diego Godin, Milan Škriniar, Stefan de Vrij; Stefano Sensi, Nicolò Barella, Marcelo Brozović, Kwadwo Asamoah, Danilo D'Ambrosio; Lautaro Martínez, Romelu Lukaku.

Inter Milan looked the better side in the first half, where they came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, while AC Milan tried to catch the Nerazzurri on the break. The first half ended 0-0. After the break, Marcelo Brozovic put Inter forward after a well-taken goal. Lukaku then doubled the lead, helping Inter to a 2-0 victory. Here are the five players who were brilliant for Antonio Conte and helped Inter win the game.

#5 Lautaro Martinez

Lautaro Martinez started alongside Romelu Lukaku in a two-man attack and looked lively right from kick-off. He was a constant threat near the box, running at the defenders and drawing tackles from the opposition. His movement and trickery subsequently won his team free-kicks in dangerous positions.

The Argentinean also combined well with Lukaku and even sent the Belgian clear on goal on one occasion, however, the former Manchester United striker failed to score.

Martinez also produced a good save from Donnarumma in the 21st minute after picking up a pass from Sensi.

He then squandered an easy chance to score from a D’Ambrosio cross, but replays showed that the Argentinean was offside. Martinez even had the ball at the back of the net in the 35th minute, but it was disallowed because he was offside, again.

The Argentinean continued to stretch the opposition defence before he was replaced by Politano in the 76th minute.

#4 Stefano Sensi

The Italian midfielder was a silent worker on the pitch, helping Inter Milan take control of the game and winning the midfield battle for his team.

With the ball at his feet, Stefano Sensi made the right decisions throughout the game. He picked out his teammates with simple balls and kept possession for his team. Sensi regularly tried to find his forward players with final balls and even carved out a few chances for both Martinez and Lukaku.

Sensi also worked extremely hard whenever the Nerazzurri lost the ball. He paid close attention to Franck Kessie and ensured that the Ivorian could not play his natural game. And in the 49th minute, he picked up an assist, passing the ball to Marcelo Brozovic, who scored the first goal of the game.

After Inter took the lead, Milan tried hard for the equalizer and Sensi’s presence was vital to keep the Rossoneri at bay.

#3 Nicolo Barella

The Italian started the game by rubbing a knee into Piatek’s ribs in the ninth minute. It was a sign of things to come from Inter, as Nicolo Barella brought both steel and finesse to the middle of the park.

The Italian’s vision and passing ability caught the eye and his mere presence in the final third gave the opposition continuous headache.

Barella was clever with his movements, popping up in various areas and picking up pockets of spaces behind the two strikers. His regularly whipped in dangerous crosses into the far post and one of those even led to a disallowed goal.

The Italian was effective with his closing down and continuously pressed the opposition in the final third. In the 78th minute, Barella ran into the left flank and sent in a measured cross towards Lukaku, who scored Inter’s second of the game and helped secure all three points.

#2 Romelu Lukaku

The Belgian has taken to life in Italy like fish to water, scoring in his first two games for Inter Milan in the Serie A, since joining in the summer. However, Lukaku had an indifferent start to the game against Milan, as he struggled to get to the end of the balls in the box.

He had a great chance to score in the 18th minute, after Martinez sent him through with only the goalkeeper to beat, however, the Belgian’s shot was saved by Donnarumma. His touch in the box was also a bit poor on quite a few occasions in the first half.

After the break, Lukaku continued to work hard, drifting out to the flanks and trying to turn provider for his team.

After missing another free header, Lukaku finally managed to get to the end of a Barella cross in the 78th minute. His nifty header was enough to beat Donnarumma and double Inter’s lead. It was a goal that the Nerazzurri deserved.

#1 Marcelo Brozovic

The Croatian is the heart of this Inter Milan team and he regularly dictates the proceedings from deep. Against Milan too, Marcelo Brozovic started from his usual position but had his work cut out. Inter piled up the pressure on the Rossoneri but were vulnerable on the counter. This is where the Croatian showed his worth.

Brozovic dictated the tempo of the game from deep. He switched play to bring the wingbacks into the game and allowed Sensi and Barella to push further forward on the pitch. The Croatian’s passing was accurate as always, helping Milan take control of the midfield quite early in the game.

Whenever Milan tried to break away on the counter, Brozovic helped stabilize the Nerazzurri and ensured that the Rossoneri had little room to maneuver their game plan.

In the 48th minute, with the score still at 0-0, the Croatian finally took matters in his hands and unleashed a low shot into the far corner.

It crept into the back of the net via a deflection, even though a VAR check was required to confirm the goal. Brozovic’s man of the match performance ultimately helped his team win the game.