Serie A 2019-20: Previewing the 224th Milan Derby as league leaders Inter take on AC Milan
Internazionale play 'hosts' to cross-town rivals AC Milan in the 224th instalment of the Milan Derby this weekend.
The Milan Derby, or the Derby Della Madonnina as it is called in Italian, is one of the oldest inter-city football derbies in Italy. It is a clash between the two Milan clubs, Internazionale and AC Milan, and is the only derby in Italy which involves both clubs who have won the European Cup / UEFA Champions League.
The first official Milan Derby took place in the 1909-10 Serie A season (then called the 'Prima Categoria), which AC Milan won 3-2.
In 223 editions of the derby, which has spanned beyond Serie A and into competitions like the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League, Internazionale have triumphed on 80 occasions, Milan on 76, and 67 meetings have ended in stalemates.
Andriy Shevchenko of Ukraine is the top-scorer in the Milan Derby, with 14 goals (all for AC Milan).
Giuseppe Meazza, the player after whom Milan and Internazionale's shared stadium is named, has scored 13 goals (12 for Internazionale, one for Milan) in the Milan derby.
Meazza leads a select group of players like Enrico Candiani (seven for Internazionale, three for Milan), Aldo Cevenini (four for Milan, two for Internazionale) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (two for Internazionale and four for Milan) to have scored for both clubs in the Milan Derby.
Both sides have won the derby by a five-goal margin. Milan scored five unanswered goals past their blue and black cross-town rivals in the 1988 Coppa Italia. Inter returned the favor in a 2001 Serie A game by scoring a 'bagel set' past the Rossoneri.
Erstwhile Inter captain Mauro Icardi is one of four Inter players to have scored hat-tricks in the Milan Derby, while José Altafini is the only Milan player to net three goals against Inter.
Famous players like Francesco Toldo, Roberto Baggio, Ronaldo (Brazilian), Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf. Hernán Crespo, Patrick Vieira and Leonardo Bonucci have donned the jerseys of both clubs during their illustrious careers.
Inter's longest winning streak in the Milan derby spans four games, which the Nerazzurri accomplished for the first time in Serie A (1932 to 1934) and then between 1973 and 1974 (Serie A 1973, Coppa Italia 1974, Serie A 1974 and Coppa Italia 1974).
Milan's best win streak in the Milan derby is six games, which the Rossoneri first achieved between 1911-12 to 1913-14 in Serie A (then called the Prima Categoria) and then between 1946 to 1948 (all in Serie A).
Last 10 Milan Derbies
In the last 10 matches between the two Milan clubs, Inter have won four times (which includes wins in the last two derbies), Milan have triumphed twice and four games have been drawn affairs.
Milan haven't beaten the 2019-20 Serie A leaders Inter in the league since a 3-0 win in January 2016.
Milan's next goal against Inter would be their 300th in the Milan derby.
Brief preview of the 224th Milan Derby
Milan's clash with table toppers Inter would be the 171st installment of the Milan Derby in Serie A and 224th overall in all competitions.
Milan have been goal-shy in 2019-20 Serie A, netting a joint league-low two goals in three games. But they have also had the meanest Serie A defence in 2019, conceding only 17 goals.
Both Inter and Milan have conceded a solitary goal in three Serie A games this season.
The two new managers at the helm, Marco Giampaolo for AC Milan and Antonio Conte for Inter, have fairly full rosters for Derby Day - with only Davide Calabria of Milan unavailable for selection owing to a yellow card collected in the Milan-Verona game.
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