Inter Milan 0-1 A.C. Milan: Halftime Update

Milan have been in control for most of the half, but Inter Milan finally showed signs of life in the final ten minutes. Unfortunately, it was a substitution that was made necessary by injury that started Inter’s rise back to respectability.

Between the opening whistle of the match and the substitution of Coutinho for Joel Obi, it was all Milan. This is no diss to Obi - the youngster played very hard in his time on the pitch - but Coutinho provides a different type of attacking flair and allows Inter Milan to play in a formation they’re more accustomed to. In the final ten minutes of play, Wesley Sneijder hit the side netting on a great free kick attempt, Ivan Cordoba had one spectacular surging run, and Coutinho, while he didn’t create anything significant, showed a couple of flashes of what he can bring to the Inter side.

Inter have actually had plenty of time on the ball, but very little quality time. They have no shots on target and the defensive (and two-way) minded midfielders of Milan have done well in cutting off any kind of dangerous supply to Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito. Inter did not register a single shot on target in the first half.

Gennaro Gattuso of Milan has been his abrasive self, putting in aggressive, though usually well timed challenges. However, he has picked up a yellow card and could very well be off. The referee was lenient with him after he made a questionable challenge at the very end of the half that probably should have resulted in a second yellow card and a sending off.

Milan have been the better team, but could use a creative spark while Marco Materazzi appears to be a serious defensive liability for Inter Milan. Both teams should be making changes before the 60 minute mark with Davide Santon, Esteban Cambiasso, Ronaldinho, and Andrea Pirlo being your likely candidates for entry into the match.