MILAN (AP) – There will be no smoke in the stadium by the ultra flares, there will be no enthusiasts mocking chants and flags, there will be no roars when they leave.
But it will be the derbi of Milan.
An atmosphere in San Siro awaits on Saturday when Inter Milan welcomes its rival city of AC Milan with only 1000 enthusiasts allowed in the 80,000-seat stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic. There were even doubts last week about the continuation of the derby due to the accumulation in instances of COVID-19 in any of the teams.
The virus has excluded Inter Ashley Young, Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Okriniar, Radja Nainggolan, Roberto Gagliardini and Ionut Radu, while Milan will miss Leo Duarte and Matteo Gabbia.
Milan Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returned this week after recovering from the virus, is almost certainly on the field.
Christian Vieri, a former inter and Milan intern, believes Ibrahimovic will be more powerful than ever.
“He will have damaged the treadmill every day,” Vieri said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. “Someone who says COVID had a bad concept to challenge him is mentally more powerful than each and every other.
“He’ll play the derby with a cigarette in his mouth, I. “
Ibrahimovic arrived last January and helped Milan’s fortunes last season with 10 goals in 18 Serie A appearances.
Milan finished sixth, but Ibrahimovic, 39, joked that if he had been there since the start of the season, the Rossoneri would have won the championship. He has scored 3 goals in the two games he played this season.
“Milan is a young team, it has a number one, the veteran Ibra,” Vieri said.
“He will score more than 20 goals. Ibrahimovic gives you a delight that has no equivalent and encompasses everything: technique, vision of the game, scoring goals, scoring goals and the game of his team, because he raises the quality point of each.
Before the season, Antonio Conte’s Inter faced a major challenge for the title, while for Milan, qualifying for the Champions League would be an achievement. For now, the roles are reversed.
Milan entered the derby with an undefeated 19-match streak in all competitions and after winning all three league matches by awarding a goal.
Inter tied for Lazio and has already scored six goals.
“We worked so hard during lockdown that it’s no coincidence that we never lost,” Milan’s defenseman Theo Hernandez said, “but it’s a long way. “
Milan have won a Serie A derby since 2016, while Inter has won five of their last six league games.
“Compared to a year ago, we feel much more powerful. Array. . . we are more powerful, everything has changed,” Hernandez said. “We are calm, though we know it is not just any party. It’s the derby.
“But we have to play as has been done so far: run, fight and do everything we can to win. Now we’re another Milan, we can do it. “
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