#TBT: WHEN GIGIO AVENGED DINHO

Gigio and Sinisa. The two faces of AC Milan’s most recent derby win in the league. Milan were the home side just like for this weekend's encounter. Gigio Donnarumma was thrown into the side by Siniša Mihajlović. January 2016 had been a bad month for the Rossoneri, who suffered a tough home defeat to Bologna. The side then recovered to draw at Roma and beat Fiorentina. However, following a draw against Empoli, the side were tasked with exacting revenge for an unfortunate derby loss earlier in the season - a defeat which came about due to a Guarin goal and some miraculous Handanovic saves. 

On to Siniša and Gigio. The Serbian Coach, to whom everyone in the sport is close to today, selected a 4-4-2 formation which looked to make use of Niang’s pace. Alex opened the scoring to make it 1-0, fulfilling the dream of the Curva Sud whose pre-match choreography alluded to Hateley’s famous header. The second half did not start well, however. 

Inter were awarded a penalty. Icardi stepped up but hit the post. Had Gigio been able to hypnotise him? It didn’t matter, it hit the post. From then on, the Rossoneri took control of the match with Bacca and Niang scoring to make it 3-0. Icardi's miss against Gigio was the turning point of the derby between AC Milan and Inter on 31 January 2016. A missed penalty, a crucial penalty. For the Rossoneri fans, it was payback for an incident seven years prior. 

In January 2009, a Nerazzurri side coached by Jose Mourinho was 2-0 up but had been reduced to nine men. Towards the end of the game, Ronaldinho had a chance to score from the spot to get Milan back into the game. Julio Cesar had other ideas though, as his strong save killed off any hopes of a comeback.

The official PUMA match kits for the 2019/20 season are available in the AC Milan Online Store!