Edin Dzeko shows ageless class as Inter use recent history lessons to rock Milan

A banner hung from San Siro’s Curva Sud before kickoff claimed that every devil in hell had come to support Milan but they forgot the one who lives in the details. You can make a stadium into an inferno for an evening but leaving Edin Dzeko marked by a full-back at a corner is a recipe for eternal regret.

“He’s a lot bigger than me, there’s not much to be done,” said Davide Calabria of the goal that set Inter on the way to a 2-0 victory over the Rossoneri in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. The biggest Milan derby in two decades was barely eight minutes old when Dzeko hooked his leg around the defender and volleyed home.

It was, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the first time Stefano Pioli’s team had conceded from a corner in 104 attempts, yet it felt all too familiar. Inter won their previous match against Milan, three months ago, with a goal from the same source: Hakan Calhanoglu delivering both crosses from the same corner of the same ground these teams share. The only difference was the scorer: Dzeko this time, Lautaro Martínez back then.

“Derbies are decided by the details,” said Martínez on Wednesday. The same might be said for cup ties. Inter’s record in knockout competitions since Simone Inzaghi took charge is practically unblemished: winning the Supercoppa in both seasons, as well as bagging the Coppa Italia in 2022 and reaching the final of this year’s edition – to be played against Fiorentina this month.

Nobody at the club dares to presume that they are on course for the Champions League final too. The conversations with reporters after beating Milan became almost comedic in their repetition, one player after another lining up to insist that a 2-0 advantage meant nothing. Francesco