Milan stunned the San Siro crowd with a commanding 3-0 win over city rivals Inter, sending the Rossoneri to the Coppa Italia final and shattering Inter’s hopes of a historic treble in the process. Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao—played pivotal roles in derailing the Nerazurri’s season, but their performances were not without nuance.
Milan stunned the San Siro crowd with a commanding 3-0 win over city rivals Inter, sending the Rossoneri to the Coppa Italia final and shattering Inter’s hopes of a historic treble in the process. In a night filled with grit, fire, and clinical finishing, two of Milan’s attacking stars—Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao—played pivotal roles in derailing the Nerazurri’s season, but their performances were not without nuance.
It was a night written in red and black. A 3-0 second-leg victory (4-1 on aggregate) saw the Rossoneri overcome a sluggish start to seize total control in the Derby della Madonnina. With Luka Jovic scoring twice and Tijjani Reijnders adding a third, the result left Inter shell-shocked and eliminated from the Coppa Italia. Only Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona remain in the running for the European treble in 2024-25.
Despite being 20 points behind Inter in Serie A, Milan has had the upper hand in the rivalry this season, remaining unbeaten across five meetings with three wins and two draws. Inter, meanwhile, were hoping to repeat Jose Mourinho’s legendary 2010 treble, but the dream came crashing down under the lights at San Siro.
Tale of two halves
The first half was frantic and uneven. Milan struggled to keep possession early on, and Inter nearly capitalized, with chances from Lautaro Martinez and Federico Dimarco that were either wasted or saved by Mike Maignan. Then came the turning point.
In the 35th minute, Theo Hernandez drove infield, linked up with Reijnders, and a pinpoint cross from Alex Jimenez met the head of Jovic, who powered it home. Less than five minutes into the second half, the Red and Blacks doubled their advantage. A corner dropped awkwardly, with the ball bouncing off Leao and falling to Jovic, who reacted first to poke it past Yann Sommer for his brace.
The final blow came in the 85th minute, when Leao slipped a pass behind Inter’s high line to Reijnders, who drilled a shot into the far corner. That assist, though subtle, gave the Portuguese a tangible imprint on the match.
How did Pulisic and Leao fare?
And yet, despite the scoreboard, neither Christian Pulisic nor Rafael Leao had their best night individually. Pulisic earned a rating of 6 across most outlets, praised more for his positioning and defensive contribution than attacking flair.
“It was a rather tough first half for the No.11 as he couldn’t get the touches quite right,” wrote SempreMilan. “Still, the second half was better as he managed to get involved and find space between the lines.”
Leao’s performance was even more divisive. MilanNews.it awarded him a 7, citing his persistence and late assist, while Football Italia gave him the lowest Milan rating of 5.5, noting that he “feels like the missing piece in an otherwise perfect puzzle.”
SempreMilan echoed this view, stating: “More or less everything went wrong for him in the first half… he had space to do more.” Still, as one of the most unpredictable attackers at the moment, Leao showed why he remains a threat even on off nights. With one moment of awareness and vision, he assisted in the goal that sealed Milan’s place in the final.
