Inter without Lucio seemed to be more of a factor as Milan's Pato was in top form yesterday and maybe he had a point to prove as he has not had the best relationship with Ibrahimovic.
All the hype about Ibrahimovic not playing and Pato being injured was probably a factor in this match. Nobody expected the young Brazilian to come out playing like that, well done to him.
Inter's defence was a disaster and Leonardo could not do much more in a match like yesterday. The only thing I would have changed was that Stankovic should have been brought in from the beginning instead of Pandev. Pandev was not at his best and yes he did score the winning goal against Bayern to let Inter progress in the much desired Champions League, but last night was a different story.Stankovic has that fire and desire for a derby and he has scored many goals against Milan in his career, I believe he would have made the difference.
Milan played their game, they closed the back end and played a match with fast passing and dangerous counter-attacks. It was their night and their year for the derby victories.
The season is not over yet, Inter are still playing in three competitions compared to Milan being eliminated fromo the Champions League... a trophy Ibrahimovic looks like he will never win.
The last matches will be very important in the league. Inter have some tough matches, but Milan are not out of the woods yet as they have a tough road ahead as well.
Inter: Chievo (away), Parma (home), Lazio (home), Cesena (home), Fiorentina (home), Napoli (away) and finally Catania (home)
Milan: Fiorentina (away), Sampdoria (home), Brescia (away), Bologna (home), Roma (away), Cagliari (home) and finally Udinese (away)
As you can see, Inter have many matches on their home turf and a very tricky match against Napoli on the second last day away in Napoli. Now Milan still have Fiorentina, Roma and a very tricky match on the last day with one of the best teams this season, Udinese.
Leonardo has confidence in the team, and he took all the insults like a man yesterday. Leonardo in my opinion will be at Inter fir a long while, and he still has to grow and gain experience as a coach. It is no easy task taking control of the current Italian, European and World champions.
Inter are in a position that they never dreamed of being in last December, and the only problem is that they half to watch their backs because Napoli and Udinese are ready to take advantage of any mistakes Milan or Inter make.
We all must not forget the fantastic season Inter had last year, their accomplishments have not been matched in Italy!!!
And a final note: Il calcio è fatto anche di questo e un bravo a Cassano che si è buttato in area" (That's football, and "bravo" to Cassano for diving in the area.) - Inter captain Javier Zanetti.
Forza Inter
