At Milan City, AC Milan lost 2-1 to Spezia after missing multiple scoring opportunities, conceding penalties and suffering a comical penalty, leaving Inter two points behind in one game.
Such a defeat disappointed the Rossoneri fans and some commentators in the Italian media.
Pioli tried to inspire the Milan players, pointing out that as long as they win Next Juve and Inter, the Rossoneri can turn the tide.
But there are also people in the public opinion circles who have begun to vent their emotions in other ways, such as accusing Inter Milan.
The reason for the accusation was simple: after Spezia arrived in Milan City, before the game began, team owner Platke and manager Ricardo Piccini visited Inter's headquarters in the Liberty Block and were warmly received by Inter.
This was not a big deal, but after Milan's unexpected loss, all kinds of speculation began: could Inter offer a bounty to AC Milan's opponents? Kick wins by Inter to pay the prize money? Is this contrary to the spirit of fairness?
In any case, after meeting with Inter milan seniors, Spezia was scrappy and resilient when playing AC Milan, which gave some people the opportunity to take the wind.
In Italy, there is never a shortage of such conspiracy theories.
The real reason for Spezia's visit is unknown to outsiders.
Officially, it was a courtesy visit. Manager Spezia has been Marotta's "relation" for many years, and since he has come to milan, he cannot afford to lose his courtesy.
Some reporters pointed out that Spezia is a young man who wants to bring in Sensi or a certain Inter echelon on loan. But this claim is clearly not very credible. It is well known that Spezia has been banned for four transfer windows for bringing in a number of underage players and annoying the FIFA disciplinary department. Even if Spezia intends to appeal for a commutation, this is not something that can be done in the short term, and this winter window is difficult to bring in reinforcements.
In fact, the experts of the ball market pointed out that there were two main reasons for this visit.
First, the top brass of the two teams talked about Salcedo's problems.
Born in 2001, Inter's rookie was loaned to Verona for the previous two seasons, playing 38 games (14 starts) in two seasons, which is not an absolute main force, but can get a lot of opportunities.
During the summer training, he was also under the command of Inzaghi Jr., and for a while, the coaching staff also evaluated whether to leave him to play as a fifth striker.
Before the start of the season, he was loaned to Spezia to train, but under Thiago Motta, Salcedo played less time (only 404 minutes), both the players and Inter were a little dissatisfied, and the Nerazzurri talks with Spezia this time are also learning about Salcedo.
Another reason is that Inter is interested in promoting the "new account guard, account front" plan.
One of Inter's most successful deals in recent years has been the so-called "account guard" deal.
For example, Shkrinar, Bastoni and others, before joining Inter Milan, were not widely optimistic, the Nerazzurri used a number of players as vouchers, at a high valuation to bring in players at a high valuation (such as Bastoni joining the price is 31 million), but because it involves multiple "vouchers", so the actual cash expenditure is very small.
These players are now in good shape, at the top of the Serie A value list, and have a strong sense of belonging at Inter, which is already the most valuable asset of the Nerazzurri.
Successful trading models are naturally worth learning from. Inter certainly hopes to make a similar deal in the future.
At present, Inter pays attention to a lot of young people, in addition to those who have been hyped up such as Kamaka, Vladesi and others, there are some less popular but also widely optimistic candidates, such as Empoli's 19-year-old Italian rising star Mattia Viti recently highlighted by The Milan Sports Newspaper, and Empoli's 2001 midfielder Samuele Ricci.
The reporter pointed out that Inter will continue to negotiate with some teams of loan players in the near future, such as esposito, Pinamonti, Muratieri and other teams, which may be intended to recycle them in the summer window as a voucher for the next "high-priced deal".
A meeting between the Nerazzurri and spezia's top brass could be part of the plan.
In short, spezia's visit this time, the two clubs talk about business issues.
As for the so-called "bounty", it is inevitable that it is a bit too mysterious. The Nerazzurri are currently fiscally tight and not generous enough to throw money around. After winning the Super Cup, Inter did not give a high reward to its own players (the total bonus of the whole team is hundreds of thousands of euros, and it can only be regarded as a slight dedication to each person), let alone a high bonus to other teams. Or don't think too complicated.