Derby draw leaves Inter Milan seven points adrift of bitter rivals AC Milan
Inter Milan have had a mixed start to their domestic campaign. On paper, the Nerazzuri seem to be following the same pattern that propelled them to the Serie A title last season.
The only difference, though, is that Inter will need to be more efficient to lift the title this term. While most of their rivals suffered a down year last season, allowing Inter Milan to run away with the league. However, the situation is completely different this year.
Napoli and AC Milan have already opened up a seven-point gap on the Nerazzurri and look primed to be the top contenders for the title unless another team can match their consistency.
On Sunday, the Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter Milan pitched two of the top three teams in the Italian top flight against each other. It was a battle that could have shaken the title race.
In the end, a 1-1 draw meant the point difference between the top three teams remained the same as neither side managed to take their chances.
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Inter Milan miss chance to close gap at the top
Apart from the departures of Romelu Lukaku and manager Antonio Conte, little has changed at Inter Milan this season. Simone Inzaghi hasn’t done too badly in the dugout.
The main problem of the Nerazzurri remains a lack of consistency. They are currently unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions but draws against Juventus and AC Milan could easily have been turned into wins.
As it stands, Napoli and AC Milan hold a healthy lead over Inzaghi’s side, who now trail the joint leaders by seven points after 12 matches.
There are still a lot of matches to be played. But Inter Milan just bottled the chance to take down one of their rivals when they faced the Rossoneri on Sunday. Had they managed to win, Inter Milan would not only have claimed the bragging rights but would also have closed the gap to just three.
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Wastefulness costs Nerazzurri against AC Milan
For neutrals, there can be no complaints over the end-to-end game that AC Milan and Inter Milan served over the weekend.
For Inter Milan fans, though, there will always be a feeling of two points dropped. The Nerazzurri had two penalties in the first half, which would have given them an important lead going into the break.
Hakan Calhanoglu netted from the spot to give Inzaghi’s side the lead. But an own goal from Stefan de Vrij brought AC Milan back on level terms.
Shortly after, Inter Milan had a glorious chance to go ahead when they were awarded another penalty. Lautaro Martinez stepped up this time and saw his effort saved, ultimately leading to a draw in a game that Inter should have won.
“The glass is half-empty, because we had so many chances and missed a penalty, so in my view we deserved far more," Inzaghi said after the game, as quoted by Tribal Football.
“We were up against a great team who are deservedly top of the table, we're behind them in terms of progress, but there is time to get back on track and performances like this will give us confidence."
Inter Milan can only blame themselves for failing to win the derby. They had many opportunities to take the three points, including a decisive penalty, but didn’t take their chances and it cost them dearly.