Manuel Akanji has warned that Inter Milan must avoid another sluggish opening when they face city rivals AC Milan in Saturday’s Derby della Madonnina.
The Milan clubs arrive for the match in sharply different circumstances. AC Milan were beaten 4-2 at home by Bologna earlier this week, marking their first defeat of the season.
Inter, by contrast, share first place in the league table with Lazio and remain unbeaten in the current Serie A campaign.
However, the Nerazzurri have repeatedly fallen behind early in matches this season after conceding the opening goal. Christian Chivu’s team have nevertheless recovered 13 points from losing positions so far.
Akanji said Inter cannot rely on such recoveries against an opponent of Milan’s calibre.
“It is not easy to explain. It is not that we begin matches badly, but at times we make errors and concede,” Akanji said in an interview with Sky Sport Italia. “We cannot allow that to happen, particularly against the top teams.”
Inter will also be seeking to break a difficult run against their local opponents. They have failed to defeat Milan in their previous seven derbies, recording five losses and two draws.
