AC Milan’s run of form may have been good going into the Derby della Madonnina, but their defeat to Inter only served to highlight the Rossoneri’s impotence in front of goal.
Having scored at least three times in each of their previous outings, coach Gennaro Gattuso would have expected far more from a forward line that was barely able to trouble their rivals.
It took his side 80 minutes to register their first shot on target, Suso seeing his effort saved by Samir Handanovic. You would have to go back as long as February’s win at Roma to see the last time Milan had no efforts on target in the first half of one of their matches.
That statistic was not helped by having just four touches in Inter’s penalty area, comfortably worse than their previous low this season, when they managed only eight in the victory at Sassuolo.
Reduced to feeding on relative scraps, Gonzalo Higuain managed just 24 touches during the match, and was unable to find the target with either of the two shots he was able to fire away.
Sunday’s defeat was the first time Milan had failed to find the back of the net since April’s humbling by Benevento, so it is a bad time to be coming up against Serie A’s meanest defence, as they will next weekend when facing Sampdoria who have conceded just four times so far this season.
