Milan (AFP)
Inter and its arch-neighbour, Milan, renew the date tomorrow, “Tuesday”, at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in the “Derby of Rage” in the second leg of the Italian Cup semi-finals, for a ticket in the final match.
The two rivals will transfer their fierce competition for the league title, as Milan are two points ahead of Inter, who have a postponed match, to the Cup competition, in order to resolve the final match card after they tied negatively in the first leg on the first of last March.
It is the 27th “derby” between the two neighbors in the cup, and the balance is relatively tilted in favor of Milan, which is seeking its sixth title in the competition, and the first since 2003, with 10 victories compared to eight for the seven-time champion, the last of which was in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons.
The two teams enter the match in high spirits, especially Inter, which is hyped with three successive victories, most notably against rivals Juventus, the latest of which was at Spezia 3-1, which enabled him to boost his chances of defending the local title, taking advantage of two pitfalls for Milan.
Inter has an advantage over Milan, which is that he played a game less than him, and winning it on the current 27th in Bologna will bring him closer and closer to retaining the title he crowned in 2021 for the first time since 2010 when he scored the historic treble under the leadership of current Roma coach Jose Mourinho.
Inter are waiting for a fiery summit next Saturday against Roma and coach Mourinho, while Milan will visit the second pole of the capital, Lazio, on Sunday.
Milan woke up in time, defeating its guest Genoa 2-0 also in the opening of the thirty-third stage to maintain the leadership.
Inter are seeking revenge against their neighbor, who defeated them 2-1 last February in the local league, but the task will not be easy against the “Lombardy” team, which has not lost in its last 13 matches in various competitions, especially since it fell to its guest Spezia 1-2 on 17 last January.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli was enthusiastic before the match, but feels it has no bearing on the title race this season.
“No, not for me, regardless of tomorrow’s result, which is important because it could take you to the final,” Pioli said in a press conference. The end, referring to the possibility of his team qualifying without defeating its opponent, through a positive tie, because the goal rule outside the rules is still being worked out in Italy, unlike the European Union competitions for the game.
He stressed the importance of team unity, “The more united you are, the better chance you have of winning matches. Yesterday we had a nice lunch with families as well. It was a positive day, even if the important thing is today’s match.
In the second semi-final match, champions Juventus seem to have great chances of reaching the final when they host Fiorentina on Wednesday.
Juventus had returned with a fatal victory from Florence, thanks to a goal by friendly fire, scored by Lorenzo Vinotti by mistake in his team’s goal.
Juventus is seeking to continue its campaign in the cup competition, hoping to save its season and avoid leaving empty-handed for the first time since 2011.
Juventus was eliminated from the Champions League from the final price by Villarreal, and is ranked fourth in the league, 8 points behind Milan.