In a key matchup in the Italian Serie A, AC Milan sat at home to Inter Milan. In the first half, Acerbi accurately captured Pavard's powerful header and flexibly shook his head in the penalty area to break the deadlock. Thuram received the ball and fired a powerful shot, unfortunately missing the post.
As the game heated up in the second half, Thuram showed his skill and calmly slotted the ball into the net to extend Inter's lead. Fikayo Tomori then took advantage of a header to pull one back for AC Milan. At the final whistle, Inter Milan defeated AC Milan 2-1 to seal the Serie A title in advance.
In the face of the defeat, some fans who had been expecting Pioli may have realized by this moment that even if Pioli tried to change his formation to win, he could not make up for the obvious problems such as weak defense in the middle and frequent omissions in set-piece defense, which is the core factor of AC Milan's decline in the strong dialogue.
Defensive improvements are seen as key to Milan's improvement, and a fundamental reason for Cardinale and Ibrahimovic's determination to change coaches – with a glaring lack under Stefano Pioli that has seriously affected the team's overall performance. Pioli, who has few bright spots in the tactical layout, seems to be difficult to make a new breakthrough in AC Milan.
Here are the player ratings for AC Milan's 1-2 defeat to Inter Milan:
Maignan (5): Despite not being able to do anything about Acerbi's header, he was a little late in reacting to Thuram's attack at the near post and had some responsibility.
Calabria (5 points): Forced to play another role that is not his own this season. He did what he could. But he received a red card and left the field at a crucial moment.
Gabia (6 points): He was brilliant in the first half against Thuram and Lautaro, and was resilient in the second half after trailing Inter Milan 2-0.
Fikayo Tomori (5.5): A little lost at first. Although Lautaro had broken past him in the first half, he made up for Maignan's mistake in time. With a goal, the score was rewritten to 1-2 and the derby was rekindled.
Moussa (5.5): He played as a right winger and then returned to midfield, but too many tactical changes baffled him. His all-out attitude and selflessness are appreciated. At some point in the game, he raced 60 metres with the ball and delivered a brilliant dangerous pass for Leao (replaced by Okafor on 77 minutes, who was unrated).
Adley (5): The highlight of the game was the indignation after a foul on Barella. The rest of the game was poor, with slow pace, lack of accuracy and defensive holes in Acerbi's goal (replaced by Bennacer on 68 minutes, who scored 5.5 points).
Reynders (5.5): The revolutionary attempt did not produce the desired results, but instead raised more questions and tried to find inspiration in difficult situations, but achieved little (replaced by Olivier Giroud on 51 minutes, who scored 5 and joined the mourners).
Theo Hernandez (5): Weaker in this matchup that requires a tough guy. His body language and technical manoeuvres were an impressive image in the derby, particularly against Dumfries.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (4.5): Struggled with Christian Pulisic in the first half between Inter Milan's tight defence and midfield, lacking the time and space to display his attacking talents. He expressed his displeasure with the team's sluggish form (replaced by Chukwueze in the 68th minute, who scored six points and performed positively).
Christian Pulisic (5): Although he teamed up with Ruben Loftus-Cheek to try to penetrate the Inter defence, it didn't work well and his movements were easy to read and blocked.
Rafano Leao (6): Pioli pushed him to the heart of the attacking system, giving him the responsibility of starting the shooter. Moussa's clever pass set up a great chance for Leao to equalise, but Leao couldn't deliver the killing blow against Sommer at the far post. Despite this, he played a key role in the 1-2 goal, not least the indirect assist, which was a threatening attack created by Gabia in the box.
Coach Pioli's assessment (4 points): In another setback in the local derby, it is clear that the tactical innovations he has implemented have left many players confused, and the team's confidence is currently at a low point. At 2-0 down, the team was unable to transition smoothly to an effective counter-attack phase that created an equaliser, despite a blistering response. Stefano Pioli witnessed the moment when Inter Milan sealed the Serie A title ahead of his nose, which undoubtedly increased the torture of the rationality of his strategic adjustment.
Inter:
Sommer (7) – At a time when Inter Milan were in desperate need of a solid win, a number of crucial saves added to a remarkable season.
Parvard (7 points) – defended the defence with a crucial interception, celebrated as if he had scored a goal, and showed leadership style by contributing a crucial pass that set up Acerbi's score.
Acerbi (7.5) – opened the scoring for Inter Milan in the 18th minute and was dominant against AC Milan's strikers.
Bastoni (7) — The Italian national team member played well defensively and was rock solid (replaced by De Vrij at 88 minutes, no rating).
Darmian (6.5) – Effectively limited Christian Pulisic and then Rafael Leao and controlled the wide defence with ease (replaced by Dumfries on 83 minutes, who scored four points).
Barella (7 points) – Selfless dedication throughout the court, his presence throughout the court, is the soul of the team's midfield. When he left the pitch, Inter fans deserved to stand and applaud his brilliant performance (replaced by Frattesi on 77 minutes, no rating).
Calhanoglu (7 points) — Got the center of attention. The player, who moved to Inter Milan after helping AC Milan to the top of Serie A in 2021, has now finished his best season in Serie A as champions.
Mkhitaryan (7 points) – Surprised the crowd with a series of pleasing counter-attacks, especially in the opening stages of the match.
Dimarco (7 points) – A native Inter Milan fan, Dimarco finally won his first league title with the Nerazzurri. He continued his excellent performance in this game, adding to the success of the season (replaced by Carlos Augusto at 77 minutes, who scored 6.5 points).
Lautaro (6 points) – As captain, he missed a great chance to extend the lead in the first half. Despite leading Inter Milan in the early part of the season, it is understandable to slow down a little at the moment and accept a rotational rest.
Thuram (7.5 points) – The French striker impressed in his debut season with the final second goal for Inter Milan.
Manager: Inzaghi (8 points) – Inter Milan kept their style intact and held the initiative for 80 minutes. The victory was well deserved, and the championship glory was well deserved. This is the first time Inzaghi has led the team to win the championship as a head coach, which is of great significance.