INTER v AC MILAN: FUN FACTS

On matchday 21 in Serie A, the 235th Milan derby will take place. Always a highly anticipated clash, we’re delving into some facts and figures as Inter v AC Milan draws nearer.   

5 FEBRUARY AGAIN
Just like last season, Inter v AC Milan will be played on 5 February (at 20:45 CET rather than 18:00 CET, however). Before the showdown in 2021/22, in the previous 176 league encounters, the game had never taken place on that date. The Rossoneri are aiming to record their third consecutive Serie A win away at Inter: it would be their longest streak since their six-game winning run between 1999 and 2005.

PROLIFIC, ALBEIT DIFFERENT, ATTACKS...
The Rossoneri and Nerazzurri have enjoyed plenty of goalscoring success this campaign (Inzaghi’s side have the second-best attack, Pioli’s men are fourth in this regard), but there have been differences in the way they’ve found the net. Inter have scored a lot of goals in the opening 15 minutes of play and from set-pieces, while AC Milan are the team that, in the current league season, have netted the most times from attacking recoveries (five) and mounted the most vertical attacks (56, 30 more than the Nerazzurri).

...BUT NOT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Nevertheless, Inter and AC Milan do have a couple of things in common on the attacking front. Indeed, the Nerazzurri and Rossoneri are two of the three sides that have scored the most goals from counter-attacks (five apiece), while they’re also leading the way in terms of percentage of duels won in the league (AC Milan 54%, Inter 53%).

DRIBBLES
One stat that separates the two sides relates to dribbling. In Rafael Leão, the Rossoneri have the player who has completed the most dribbles this league campaign (33). As for Inter, they have the fewest successful dribbles in Serie A, and only Union Berlin and Schalke 04 have done worse in this regard across the major European leagues (71).

NO.9 VETERANS
Inter v AC Milan will also pit two No.9s who found the net in the reverse fixture against each other. Edin Džeko and Olivier Giroud (both born in 1986) are the two oldest players with at least ten goal contributions across the Top 5 European leagues this season. The French striker found the net in both of the first two derbies he played in the league (three goals): since the start of the three-points-per-win era (from 1994/95), no Rossoneri player has scored in each of their first three matches against Inter in Serie A.

NOT MUCH SEPARATING THE COACHES
Simone Inzaghi and Stefano Pioli are set to face off again. In the league, the Rossoneri Coach holds a slight advantage with five victories against Inzaghi, who has four wins to his name (three draws complete the picture). Pioli is unbeaten in his last three top-flight fixtures against Inter, who he coached for 23 Serie A matches between 2016 and 2017.

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