MILAN - AC Milan triumphed in the second #DerbyMilano of the season to knock Inter out in the Tim Cup quarter-final. The Rossoneri won thanks to a Patrick Cutrone goal in the 104th minute, just before the end of the first half in extra time.
The opening 15 minutes were characterised by how balanced they were. The first real chance of the match came in the 19th minute as Bonaventura headed a Kessie cross but Handanovic was there to tip over. Five minutes later, Perisic found the net after a Cancelo corner as the ball went in off Antonio Donnarumma but the goal was disallowed after the use of VAR with Andrea Ranocchia in an offside position inside the six-yard-box. After that scare, Milan were dangerous again in the 29th minute as Handanovic saved a Suso strike that was bound for the corner. Spalletti’s side responded immediately with Icardi’s header narrowly missing the target after a Joao Mario cross. In the 35th minute, Antonio Donnarumma came out to get to a dangerous Gagliardini ball ahead of Icardi. Just before the end of the half, Biglia’s left-foot effort just missed the target and the sides went back to the changing rooms with the score 0-0.
The #DerbyMilano restarted without changes and the Rossoneri came out on the front foot. A right-foot Kessie strike was put out for a corner by the Nerazzurri defence. In the 52nd minute, Joao Mario played Icardi into space but Antonio Donnarumma was able to close him down by coming out of his box. Milan responded in the 56th minute with a Bonaventura strike from the edge of the box that went just over. On the hour, Inter had a great chance to open the scoring. After some great work by Vecino, Icardi played a perfect knock-down to Joao Mario but he wasn’t able to beat Donnarumma who saved at the expense of a corner. Following five minutes of play Milan went extremely close to taking the lead. Handanovic palmed away a cross from Suso, only for Bonaventura to then send his close-range diving header over the crossbar. Spalletti soon sent on Borja Valero and Brozovic for Joao Mario and Gagliardini, as he looked to instil energy and freshness into his midfield. However, the Rossoneri threatened once again in the 79th minute with Suso in possession on the right, as the winger beat his man and then fired an effort that rebounded off the crossbar. Inter responded well just minutes later through Perisic and Brozovic, however the former’s effort just missed the target. The Nerazzurri No.44 created problems for Milan once again in the 87th minute, as his fierce strike nearly created a perfect tap-in opportunity for Candreva. With further missed chances from Calhanoglu and Suso, the opening 90 minutes soon ended following four minutes of added time and the scoreline still locked at 0-0.
The matched remained in the balance during the first 15 minutes of extra time, however, Milan took the lead just prior to the interval. Latching onto a cross from Suso, Cutrone (who replaced Kalinic) found space between the Inter defence and fired his first-time effort past Handanovic. Despite tired legs, Spalletti’s side kept pushing but were just unable to find an equaliser, with the match eventually ending 1-0 to Milan as they progressed through to the semi-finals of the TIM Cup.
MILAN 1-0 INTER
Goalscorer: 104' Cutrone
MILAN: 90 A. Donnarumma; 20 Abate (53' 2 Calabria), 19 Bonucci, 13 Romagnoli, 68 Rodriguez; 79 Kessie, 21 Biglia, 73 Locatelli (73' 10 Calhanoglu); 8 Suso, 7 Kalinic (75' 63 Cutrone), 5 Bonaventura
Substitutes: 30 Storari, 65 Soncin, 9 André Silva, 11 Borini, 17 Zapata, 18 Montolivo, 22 Musacchio, 29 Paletta, 31 Antonelli
Coach: Gennaro Gattuso
INTER: 1 Handanovic; 7 Cancelo, 37 Skriniar, 13 Ranocchia, 55 Nagatomo; 11 Vecino, 5 Gagliardini (75' 77 Brozovic); 87 Candreva (101' 23 Eder), 10 J. Mario (67' 20 B. Valero), 44 Perisic; 9 Icardi
Substitutes: 27 Padelli, 46 Berni, 17 Karamoh, 21 Santon, 29 Dalbert, 98 Lombardoni, 99 Pinamonti
Coach: Luciano Spalletti
Referee: Guida
Assistants: Meli, Crispo
Fourth Official: Pairetto
VAR Operators: Massa, Vuoto
Versión Española 日本語版 Versi Bahasa Indonesia 中文版 Versione Italiana
