AC Milan 2-0 Atalanta: AC Milan booked its fourth win in a row on Sunday evening. The Rossoneri thus benefit optimally from Internazionale’s surprising slip. In the final phase, 41-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his long-awaited comeback.
Milan started 2023 dramatically with a streak of seven without a win in all competitions. On February 10, that finally came to an end against Torino (1-0). Then Tottenham Hotspur and Monza were also beaten 1-0. Another serious test awaited Sunday with Atalanta.
Milan made an impression, especially in defensive terms. For the first time since the 2004/05 season, Atalanta did not score a single goal attempt in the first half of a league game. Milan simply remained upright and struck in the 25th minute through Théo Hernández.
The French wingback completed hard towards the visitors’ goal and saw his effort go in via the post and the back of goalkeeper Juan Musso: 1-0.
The highlight in the second half was the return of Ibrahimovic. The 41-year-old phenomenon played his last game in May and has since recovered from a serious knee injury. In recent weeks he was already on the bench and this time he was allowed to participate for twenty minutes. His substitution was met with loud cheers from the stands in Milaan. After a nice through ball from Rafel Leão, Junior Messias made it 2-0 in the final phase.
With the victory over competitor Atalanta, Stefano Pioli’s team is doing excellent business in the battle for the Italian Champions League tickets. The reigning champion is level with number two Internazionale and now has six points more than basic forces Teun Koopmeiners, Marten de Roon and associates.
Bologna 1-0 Inter Milan
Napoli’s starting position has become even better due to a defeat by Internazionale. The Nerazzurri choked on Sunday afternoon in Bologna, which already thought to take the lead in the twelfth minute via Musa Barrow. However, the goal was disallowed for offside. With Denzel Dumfries as right wing back and Stefan de Vrij in the heart of the defense, Inter did not get into the game. De Vrij received a yellow card just before half-time, after which Simone Inzaghi erred on the side and replaced him halfway through.
Bologna punished the visitors’ weak play fifteen minutes before the end and Jerdy Schouten played an important role in this. The Dutchman passed the ball perfectly to Riccardo Orsolini. The Italian shot the ball past Andre Onana, who had come out: 1-0. After the defeat in Bologna, Inter is eighteen points behind leader Napoli.
