There are reputations far from being usurped. The one who wants the San Siro stadium to be the “Scala del Calcio” is one of them. As in the venerable Milanese opera which earned it this nickname, Wednesday, May 10, the acoustics were incredible, the imperial voices, the breathtaking spectacle. An experience no doubt sublimated by the evening poster: a derby between the enemy brothers of AC Milan and Inter, in the first leg semi-finals of the European Football Champions League. “Not a derby, but ‘the’ derby”had insisted the coach of the NerazzurriSimone Inzaghi, before the match.
For more than seventy-five years, the two formations have shared the same enclosure, but for Act I of this double confrontation, the Giuseppe-Meazza, its official name since 1980, was indeed San Siro, as have always continued to l call them Rossoneri. Sarà perched tifiamothe anthem of the ultras, sung by tens of thousands of voices at the announcement of the composition of the team, stands lined with red and black, giant tifo representing “il diavolo”, the symbol of the club, which covers the entire outline of the stadium… No doubt, we were in the den of AC Milan, the host team.
Still, at the final whistle, it was the approximately 7,000 tifosi of the interist rivals who celebrated. On the scoreboard: 2-0 in favor of the “visitors”; their first victory in five clashes in the premier competition of European football – after two draws in the semi-finals of the 2002-2003 season and two defeats in the quarter-finals in 2004-2005.
An “extraordinary” first period
Asked at a press conference, two days before the deadline, about the recipe for winning this fraternal duel, Simone Inzaghie summed up: “We will have to use our head and our heart. I have no worries for the heart, but it will also be necessary to use the head, because there will be unforeseen events. » What was not expected was that less than a quarter of an hour after the start of the match, AC Milan had their backs against the wall.
At the 8e minute, on receiving a corner kick from Hakan Calhanoglu, Edin Dzeko slams a volley. The Bosnian’s shot shakes the nets of Mike Maignan, the French red and black goalkeeper. A dead silence falls on San Siro… Finally, on three-quarters of San Siro, because the Curva Nord, the turn of the ultras of Inter, on the contrary, exults. THE Nerazzurri lead 1-0.
Barely later, Nicolo Barella recovers the ball in midfield, then shifts Federico Dimarco, who serves back Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian weighs down the mark (11e). Same scene in the stands: 2-0 for black and blue.
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