AC Milan Women suffered another defeat earlier today, losing the derby against Inter by the odd goal. In short, it wasn’t the start that new head coach Davide Corti had hoped for, although a win wasn’t expected.
Milan announced the sacking of Maurizio Ganz on Monday this week, replacing him with the Primavera manager Corti. Today’s clash was the latter’s first in charge of the team, in other words, and he was thrown right into the fire with the derby.
Below is everything you need to know about the game, from the key match events to the player ratings of the Rossonere. Furthermore, the post-match comments from Corti are also included, as relayed by our colleagues at SempreMilan.it.
Summary
It was a very balanced match in the first half with little emotion on both sides. The Rossonere were dangerous on a few occasions with Staskova and Laurent. The latter was the only real threat to the Nerazzurri defence.
In the second half, Inter first hit the post and then the crossbar. In the 72nd minute, though, Cambiaghi made it 1-0 with a perfect header. Staskova had the chance to equalise but wasted it. The match then gradually faded away until the final whistle.
Player ratings
Giuliani 6.5: She makes two important saves, and couldn’t do much about Cambiaghi’s header.
Guagni 5: Poor communication with Giuliani, not perfect in the setup phase, suffered a bit from the Nerazzurri’s counterattacks.
Piga 6: Defended with order.
Swaby 6: Held Polli at bay, giving her few chances.
Bergamaschi 6: A More defensive match, with some flashes on the offensive side but nothing more.
Grimshaw 6: She fought in midfield as best she could, Simonetti and Karchouni made her life difficult but she often managed to evade their marking.
Mascarello 6: Balanced but with few verticalisations. She linked up well with her teammates but perhaps she lacked a little courage in looking for the play.
Laurent 6.5: The most dangerous of the Rossonere. A couple of good chances in the first half. She gives the sensation of being able to hurt the Nerazzurri defence at any moment.
Asllani 5.5: We definitely expect something more from the Swede in every match. She didn’t have an impact.
Dompig 5: She is no longer the same player from last season’s play-off. Small recovery in Florence and against Sassuolo. Bad today, almost without strength.
Staskova 5: One goal in nine games, not enough for a Serie A striker, and a striker who plays for Milan. A couple of poorly managed opportunities.
Post-match interview of Corti
On the result: “A draw would have been the most fair result. It was an intense week, we met from mid-week onwards. I can only applaud the girls who put their heart into it and made themselves available immediately. The message that gets across is that mentally we played the game we had to play.”
On regret: “There is regret because we created and played well too, we played an equal match and that’s it. Having taken over, it wasn’t easy to see things that had already been done before. The girls have made themselves available and there could be positive changes.”
On the objectives: “ Given the standings, it’s to get results at all costs. It’s a shame we didn’t claim any points today, but the position we have in the standings doesn’t reflect the individual qualities of the girls.”
On what to improve: “The final third will be a focus but also the management of the ball, which must be better on our part.”
On the positive things: “The performance and attitude of the girls are the most positive thing we take home today, I think the serenity we have seen in recent days is our starting point. It wasn’t an easy match and we knew it, the ones ahead of us won’t be easy but now we’ll have more time.”
On November 25th in support of Women: “Perhaps it’s one of the most important things that can be done through sport. Unfortunately, we read violent events every day from which we obviously completely dissociate ourselves. We will always try to raise our voice using the media.”
