AC Milan 1-1 Inter Milan: 5 talking points as Derby della Madonnina ends all-square following a pulsating contest | Serie A 2021-22
The first Milan derby of the season ended in a share of the spoils as AC and Inter played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the San Siro in Serie A.
Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty was canceled out by an own goal from Stefan de Vrij just six minutes later, although Lautaro Martinez then missed a spot-kick of his own.
Following an eventful first half, the sides appeared to lose steam after the break, although there were sporadic moments of goalmouth action at both ends.
Then, in the dying embers of normal time, the Rossoneri upped the ante but couldn't find a late winner, with Alexis Saelemaekers even hitting the post.
With the draw, AC Milan remain in second place and still unbeaten, while Inter are just behind them in third place.
Here are the major talking points from the 229th Milan derby:
#5 A game of two halves
The Milan derby was truly a game of two halves. While the opening stanza was end-to-end and full of goal-mouth action, the second was a pale shadow of the same.
It was almost as if the sides were really content to take home a point each instead of going for the kill. The game's tempo slowed down drastically and chances were few and far between.
Two goals and a penalty save in the first 27 minutes between AC Milan and Inter 🍿
The Milan Derby needs to settle down 😝 https://t.co/dZxqImnYBy
Creativity took a backseat, with caution taking precedence, but both sides took their turns to create spells of pressure and kept their shape right till the end.
#4 Was Calhanoglu's penalty legitimate?
Calhanoglu fired Inter in front with a nonchalant penalty kick through the middle in the 11th minute. While there was no question about his technique or finishing, there were certainly question marks over the legitimacy of the penalty itself.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu left AC Milan for Inter Milan in the summer.
He's just scored a penalty in the derby before celebrating like this in front of his former fans ☠️ https://t.co/2X8AfbCwr4
The referee adjudged Franck Kessie to have fouled the Turkish international, while replays showed it was merely an entanglement of legs. Both players were in full motion when the contact happened, and it wasn't cynical on the part of the Ivorian.
Yet the moment will be a hot topic of controversy in the post-match columns, because regardless, it was a clear obstruction of Calhanoglu's movements, leaving it open to various interpretations