Football West News
The first match in the Calcio Italiano attracted a crowd of over 52,000 last night as AC Milan and Inter drew 1-1 at Optus Stadium.
Both goals came in the second half, with Federico Dimarco’s opener for Inter cancelled out by a late penalty from Christopher Nkunku.
The first Milano Derby to be played on Australian soil began with both teams lining up side by side for a minute’s silence in memory of Milan’s former captain and Italian legend Franco Baresi, who died last Friday. All the Milan players wore ‘Baresi 6’ shirts in tribute to their all-time great.
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The game itself was largely incident-free before the interval, with Milan coming closest when Ruben Loftus Cheek set up Yunus Musah, who hit the post.
The pace quickened after half-time and it was Inter who struck first on 52 minutes when Nicolo Barella squared for Dimarco to tap in.
Possibly the loudest cheer of the night came just after the hour when Milan introduced Luka Modric off the bench as one of a raft of substitutions.
And the Croatian star had a hand in the equaliser on 83 minutes, slipping a pass to Nkunku who went down after being eased off the ball by Inter’s Carlos Augusto. It looked soft, but referee Lachlan Keevers gave a penalty, which Nkunku lashed beyond keeper Ivan Provedel for 1-1.
That was how it ended and both teams are soon back in action as they gear up for the start of the Serie A season on 22 August.
Milan fly to Jakarta this morning, where they will take on Chelsea at the weekend. Meanwhile, league champions Inter will face Juventus in the second of the Calcio Italiano fixtures at Optus Stadium on Saturday (7pm).
The third of the Calcio Italiano matches is next Tuesday at HBF Park between Juventus and Palermo.
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