Former Inter defender Daniele Adani believes that the Milan derby between Inter and AC Milan will be more significant to the Nerazzurri than the Rossoneri thanks to their respective positions in the Serie A table.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Adani gave his thoughts on the importance of this evening’s match to his former club and his predictions on who some of they key players will be, also highlighting Hakan Calhanoglu as a player with something to prove in the match.
Inter have enjoyed a fairly strong start to the campaign which has seen them drop nine points from their first eleven matches, but their city rivals have managed to drop only two points in the same period, as have Napoli.
The Nerazzurri will have an opportunity to reduce the gap to four points on the Rossoneri, but they could also fall back ten points with a loss, so this will be a greatly significant first derby of the season.
Midfielder Calhanoglu also returns to face his former club Milan for the first time, and Adani believes that he still has more that he must show in an Inter shirt.
“Even if against Juve he was involved the action of Dzeko’s goal and Inzaghi perhaps took him away when he shouldn’t have,” he stated, “I would rather focus on the fact that Inter’s Calhanoglu is not at the level of Milan’s Calhanoglu for now. Here he had to inherit the legacy of Eriksen, the man who dictated play in Conte’s Inter, but so far he has not succeeded.”
On the significance of AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the fixture he stated that “Ibra has Ballon D’Or class and a unique charisma. When you play against him he always has you on the edge.”
On Rossoneri striker Rafael Leao and Nerazzurri striker Lautaro Martinez Adani stated that “The Portuguese has already shown that he can play at the top level, but he still has to prove that he can be consistent. From Martinez I expect twenty goals per season: today he still has the defect of showing too much in easy but not very important matches.”
On the key to success for the Nerazzurri Adani named, “The setting of the three central players from behind. An important legacy left by Spalletti first and then Conte. Milan could be forced to raise the pressure with the attacking midfielder, Krunic or Diaz, to force the ball back, thus obliging in a chain reaction one between Tonali and Kessie to mark Brozovic, the fulcrum of the Nerazzurri game.”
“As a result Barella or Calhanoglu at then free to receive the ball forty meters from the Rossoneri goal and create havoc between the lines,” he explained.
As far as options from the bench, he gave the view that “Inter have something more. Correa and Sanchez, who are two more starters outside the eleven, can break the game.”
And on who the derby will be more important to of the two sides, Adani stated that “I would say for Inter. Losing and slipping to ten points back would be problematic.”