MILAN – The Serie A title could be won in a Milan derby for the first time on April 22 but AC Milan will be determined to postpone Inter Milan’s inevitable celebrations.
The title was all but wrapped up by early March and since then Inter fans have had their calculators in one hand and the fixture list in the other, dreaming of match day 33 and the possibility of a derby day to beat all derby days.
Both sides hold the top two places in the table but Inter’s 14-point lead, with six games remaining, means that a win at the San Siro will be enough to secure the Scudetto for the 20th time and break a tie with their rivals.
When they met in September, both had won their opening three games of the season to share top spot but Inter demolished Milan 5-1 that day to lay down their title credentials.
Milan will hope to finally give their fans some derby joy after 2023 brought only dismay. The neighbours met five times in 2023, including in the Champions League semi-finals, with Inter winning all five, and revenge is required.
There could be no better way than to deny Inter fans the chance to see their side clinch the league title they last won in 2021 in the game that matters most, and in what is a home match for Milan.
But former Milan defender Mauro Tassotti told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The objective of this derby must not be to postpone Inter’s title win, but to prove ourselves to be on par with them.
“Milan must play a proud match because they have lost the last five derbies and this is something that weighs on me. The sequence of defeats bothers me.”
The derby is also a massive game for Stefano Pioli, with the Milan coach under pressure and his future at the club in doubt. A win will not secure his job but another derby loss, and under these circumstances, certainly will not help his case.
Inter are boosted by the return from suspension of striker Lautaro Martinez, top scorer in Serie A with 23 goals, but the Argentinian has failed to find the net in his last four league games and will be keen to end his dry spell.
The rivals have both won 19 league titles and it will be Inter who will get that coveted second star on their jersey (one star for every 10 titles) but a draw will be enough for Milan to postpone the party.
Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, who famously swopped Milan for Inter in 2021 on a free transfer, warned he is “like a volcano ready to explode” in the derby. REUTERS
