Manuel Akanji expressed his disappointment at Inter Milan’s 1-0 defeat to local rivals Milan on Sunday night and explained why last night’s defeat was different to the loss to the Rossoneri earlier in the season: “Today was different. From our side, it wasn’t good enough.” “
Akanji’s reaction to Milan 1-0 Inter: “We didn’t do enough here”
Perves Estupinan scored the only goal of the game at San Siro on Sunday night as the Nerazzurri lost to Milan for just the second time in the 2025-26 Serie A season.
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Christian Chivu’s side remain seven points clear at the top of the Serie A table with 10 league games remaining in the season, but disappointment has been rife throughout the training camp following Sunday’s loss to their city rivals.
“I thought they played the way we expected them to play. They tried to press up front and if it didn’t work, they dropped back and that’s what they did, especially in the first half,” Akanji explained in a post-match interview with CBS Sports.
“We had a lot of pass breakups or confrontations that cost us the game, or we gave the ball away easily and gave them chances. And we didn’t defend well in some situations, and that’s why we ended up losing the game.”
If Inter Milan can insist on competing for the Serie A championship in the 2025-26 season, they will win the Serie A championship twice in three years. They have also reached the Champions League finals in two of the past four seasons and have won the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup twice in the past five seasons.
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If there’s one recurring complaint about Christian Chivu’s side, though, it’s that they’ve struggled to beat “bigger” teams in the league and Champions League this season. The Nerazzurri have also failed to beat Milan in their past seven meetings.
“I mean, I’ve only played the last two games, today and the first part of the season, and they’re completely different games to me,” Akanji said.
MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 8: AC Milan’s Rafael Leao competes with Inter Milan’s Manuel Akanji for the ball during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Inter Milan at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on March 8, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzani/Getty Images)
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“We dominated them in the first game, we had a lot of chances to score and we even missed a penalty. So, we obviously had enough chances to win the game. They had one chance and they scored and that’s why they won the game.
“It’s different today. Our side didn’t perform well enough. We lost a lot of duels and lost a lot of goals that should have been saved. There were too many mistakes. Sometimes in duels, we weren’t active enough. That’s why we lost today.”
“I think as a team we didn’t create enough chances up front. We tried to cross but nothing really happened, not a cross. But we still had good chances to score.
“I think just before they scored 1-0, Muxiliary (Henrik Mkhitaryan) was all alone on the goalkeeper and couldn’t score. Even in the second half, when Muxchi gave the ball to Dima (Federico Dimarco) to score, I think we had a couple of corner kicks and the referee had obviously blown the whistle before. And then there were a couple of situations where it could have been a penalty.
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“So we tried to create something, but I don’t think it was enough today.”
MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 8: Referee Daniel Dovili officiates at the end of the Serie A match between AC Milan and Inter Milan, AC Milan 1-0 Inter Milan, at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Italy on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Marco Luzani/Getty Images)
Akanji is naturally disappointed with Sunday’s defeat to Milan and insists he is still trying to see the positives.
“The next few days are not going to be good. You are never happy when you lose a derby. The good news is that we are still seven points ahead and we have plenty of time to recover. The next game is next Saturday at home against Atalanta, which is an important game but we will be ready again.”
“We need to do better what we didn’t do well today and I believe we can get a win there.”