Milan-Inter, Pioli and Inzaghi to the litmus test

The absences of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku do not detract from the charm and weight of the challenge

Protagonists of the just-concluded summer market with different investments in terms of economic commitment and strategies implemented, Milan and Inter, so different but equally obsessed with the idea of winning, face each other Saturday night at the San Siro for a derby that can already mean a lot in the season of the two clubs.

The Italian champions, who just on the last day of trading made the arrivals of Vranckx and Dest official, are coming off a half-hearted misstep away – their second consecutive away from Milan – and with an injury list that worries Stefano Pioli in no small part. The Nerazzurri, for their part, have yes reared their heads again after the drubbing at the Olimpico, but they cannot miss another big-match. The criticism that rained down on Inzaghi for his handling of the Olimpico match against Lazio, as well as for dogging in wanting yet another player he already had at Lazio – Francesco Acerbi – still resonates in the ether.

We are only in the fifth day, the bigs are all close in the standings, but a defeat in the stracittadina could mark, for either team, a difficult path, in environmental terms and not only, in the continuation of a season without pause: in fact, already in the middle of next week the Champions League looms.