GdS: ‘A week of mastery’ – how Conceicao’s moves inspired win over Inter | OneFootball

AC Milan lifted the Supercoppa Italiana trophy into the night sky last night, after a sensational comeback win over their city rivals Inter.

This morning’s edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) focuses on the tactical moves that the new head coach Sergio Conceicao made in ‘a week of mastery and in two nights of glory’, referencing the semi-final victory against Juventus too.

Conceicao’s moves

In the first half, Inter were unrecognisable due to a slow pace and technical errors, the sort of game where Nicolo Barella and Hakan. Calhanoglu need to raise the pace. However, the Italian struggled to get into the game and the Turk had to come off before half-time with a groin injury.

As opposed to the league derby meeting a few months ago, Conceicao went for a different and less aggressive approach. He was very careful to keep the lines narrow and low, when regrouping without the ball: 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 with Alex Jimenez helping to double up on Federico Dimarco.

The Rossoneri remained focused and – when they have the opportunity to counter – they lot sparks of danger, because Inter struggled to keep track of Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders between the lines. On 15 minutes, the Dutchman dribbled into the area and only a poor shot prevented a goal.

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However, in the 46th minute the ‘unexpected Rossoneri blackout’ arrived. On Dimarco’s throw-in, Emerson fell asleep and the rearguard found itself three against three. Fikayo Tomori was out of position, Malick Thiaw and Theo were defeated by Lautaro, who cut back and scored.

After two minutes of the second half, Taremi darted undisturbed between the two Rossoneri central defenders and made it 2-0. With two defensive blunders it seems that the Diavolo had let a game that was in hand slip completely away from them.

The Rafa and Theo show

The real Inter, even without Calhanoglu, would never have let a two-goal derby lead be snatched from their teeth. This version of the team, tired and distracted, is something else.

Leao came off the bench and with his first darting run he drew the free-kick that Theo Hernandez scored from. The game then heated up: Bastoni denied Reijnders, Sommer stopped Morata, Taremi failed to connect with a cross from Dumfries, and Carlos Augusto’s header hit the post.

Inzaghi tried to close the gaps in midfield by adding Zielinski, who however didn’t help anything. Conceiçao’s substitutions responded very well a 4-2-4 with Loftus-Cheek and Abraham. An Arab proverb says: “Throw your heart forward and chase it.” This is what Conceiçao asks.

Three minutes later, Theo crossed low for Pulisic who controlled and fired it into the bottom corner across his body. Dumfries, all alone, could still have saved the night in the 43rd minute, but Maignan stopped him and everyone understood which way the momentum was going.

In the third minute of added time, a delightful ball from Pulisic for Leao created Abraham’s match-winning goal. Conceiçao limped, laughed and cried. Confetti filled the air for the eighth Supercoppa Italiana, and the derby defied logic again.