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Confronted by their own ultras, AC Milan have encountered issue after issue in the build-up to Tuesday’s monumental return leg, but one problem is a lot more longstanding. It is also so immediate, since it is precisely the challenge against Internazionale. Milan might be the second most successful club in Champions League history, having played in the very first European Cup season in 1955-56, but that distinguished record has never seen them come back from more than a goal behind from a knock-out first leg. All that grand glory, and nothing to really inspire for this biggest of games against their greatest rivals. That might seem somewhat superficial but the profound potential effect should not be dismissed. You only have to look at last season, and this year's possible final opponent, for the greatest illustration of how it works. Real Madrid are the European champions in large part because their stadium had seen so many great comebacks, fostering this belief within the team as well as an aura around it. Milan have none of that. The only tie that comes close was a 1985-86 Uefa Cup first round against Auxerre but it’s hardly of the same scale, and would almost seem small-time to mention. Stefano Pioli has consequently been unable to inspire his players with any footage of the past. “We only talked about the derby,” the Milan manager said. That’s possibly just as well, because any look to history would mostly show Milan suffering from such comebacks. You don’t even have to go to the extreme of Istanbul, which is of course where this final is set to be held. There was Deportivo La Coruna in 2004 and Barcelona in 2013. Duly, this tie might also be decided by comebacks on the other side, albeit of a different nature. There is the return to prominence of some former Premier League stars, some of them well into their 30s. This entire tie was after all set in motion by Edin Dzeko’s soaring goal for Inter Milan in the opening minutes of the first leg. It may now be shaped by Simone Inzaghi’s use of those players. One of the reasons that Milan were so unprepared for Inter’s onslaught was because it was so difficult to second-guess what Inzaghi might do. One of the strengths of this season - if also, in the league, one of the weaknesses - has been how the coach can alternate his forward line. So it was in the first leg that he initially had the energy of Lauturo Martinez with the calculation of Dzeko. The Inter squad remain in awe of how intelligent the Bosnian is as a player, in that way that occasionally happens with senior pros who go onto a different level as they get older. Part of that has been how he conserves energy and visibly manages himself, though, which is why one of Inzaghi’s main relays up front has been between Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku. There is another comeback of sorts there, though. It could be glimpsed in the Belgian’s livewire introduction to the second half of the first leg. The Inter squad are now talking about Lukaku being back at the level he was when he left Inter in the summer of 2021 in the first place - when he was being hailed as the new “king of Serie A”. One reason is he was discomfited by a difficult adjustment period at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel, and was then intent on getting 100% ready for the World Cup. That rush probably set him back, as the displays in Qatar showed. Lukaku has really only been back to full fitness since February and that has helped generate “great momentum”. He has the feel back. He has the finishing back, as the weekend’s brace showed. That gives Inzaghi a satisfying sort of dilemma. It is increasingly difficult to leave Lukaku on the bench. He could tear at Pioli’s side. The one caveat to all of this, as well as to the first leg, is that Milan will have a comeback of their own. Rafael Leao will return to the line-up, which makes them a very different proposition. It was so conspicuously what was missing from their display on Wednesday - if also some proper defending at the back. Milan had so much process, but no product. It looked like they couldn’t really hurt Inter. Leao changes that. It should force a change in Inzaghi’s approach. Whether it changes this to the level that it changes Milan’s history remains to be seen. “Those who play football know that the matches are never finished until the end,” Pioli also said. “And we believe in it.” Inter, however, have the reality of that two-goal lead. It’s a lot to come back from. Read More Glorious Milan derby proves football does not need Super League False 9? Edin Dzeko shows the value of an old-fashioned centre-forward AC Milan are back – but not as you remember them Inter vs AC Milan team news and predicted line-ups Is Inter vs AC Milan on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Bundesliga title battle continues as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund ease to wins

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Take three talismanic attacking midfielders out of a treble-winning team and even Manchester City might struggle. Or so the theory went, anyway. Even as they paraded the trio of trophies they secured last season, it was in the absence of a triumvirate with rare and complementary gifts, in the departed Ilkay Gundogan, the injured Kevin de Bruyne and the ill Bernardo Silva. And yet as they overcame the opening weekend’s most impressive side, the rising force, perhaps the pretenders to their crown, it was their replacements who proved decisive. Mateo Kovacic to Phil Foden to Julian Alvarez. Goal. Newcastle were defeated and, even at this early stage, it could be a six-pointer of a strike. Kovacic was the first summer signing, Foden and Alvarez the world-class talent and World Cup winner who started finals on the bench last season, the deluxe deputies waiting for an opportunity, and then seizing it. It is a fallacy to say City have the biggest squad – their bench against Newcastle included Oscar Bobb, James McAtee, Sergio Gomez and Maximo Perrone – but they have a core with quality. Even when short of players, they had just enough. Three days after overcoming Sevilla to win the European Super Cup, when Pep Guardiola made a solitary substitution in Greece’s 30-degree heat, Eddie Howe made all five changes while his City counterpart made none. If it was fatigue against freshness, City had the resilience and resolve to restrict Newcastle to one, 70th-minute shot on target. There was a winning mentality in their refusal to cede ground. Even as Newcastle applied pressure, they encountered an immovable force. Nine of the players who completed the Sevilla game got the full shift against Newcastle 72 hours later. It was a triumph of willpower and of 11 starters. The goal, admittedly, came from a man confined to the bench for 84 minutes in Athens. But Alvarez has started City’s other three matches this season. The reinvention of the Argentinian as an attacking midfielder can seem an attempt to crowbar him into the team, to give Erling Haaland’s deputy enough outings to satisfy him. As an auxiliary midfielder, he is more runner than passer, but he scored from the inside-right position, his 13th goal in as many starts at the Etihad Stadium, and what is already something of a trademark finish, a rising drive towards the top corner. With De Bruyne out for much of the rest of 2023, Alvarez has scope for a longer run in midfield. After Cole Palmer staked his case for a place with goals in both the Community Shield and the European Super Cup, there is a recurring theme of the stand-ins stepping up. With Palmer demoted to the bench – Nathan Ake was the only other player to drop out – the Mancunian to catch the eye was Foden. He got an assist for finding Alvarez; arguably he deserved one more for picking out Haaland time and again. Three times the Englishman sent the Norwegian through on goal. That used to be De Bruyne’s job, picking him out, and a combination of uncharacteristically erratic finishing and a save from Nick Pope meant the usual scorer drew a blank, their burgeoning connection bodes well; indeed Foden almost doubled the lead from a pass by Haaland. If the striker was both relentless and, with a couple of stray touches, showed hints of tiredness, Foden was the man of the match. Then there was Kovacic. His capacity to take the ball in close quarters and find teammates makes him more of a quintessential Guardiola midfielder than either Alvarez or Foden. But he is scarcely a like-for-like replacement for Gundogan, lacking the German’s goals and assists, his was the sharp, line-breaking pass to Foden that brought the breakthrough. It caught Newcastle out. The most obvious culprit for the goal was Nick Pope, who got a hand to Alvarez’s shot but perhaps should have kept it out. Yet their workaholic midfield were trapped ahead of the ball, affording the Argentinian too much space. Sandro Tonali, spectacularly good in the 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa, was taken off after failing to exert the same impact. The winger Anthony Gordon, meanwhile, was brought off before he could be sent off: booked for raking his studs down Ruben Dias’ calf, a further foul on the Portuguese led to his swift substitution. Harvey Barnes, who took his spot and followed his teammate into the book mere moments after coming on, had that shot on target, but Ederson held it and Newcastle were beaten. Which may not surprise students of footballing history. There are barren runs and then there is Newcastle’s record at the Etihad Stadium, with no point since 2005. If there were reasons to believe this offered their best chance for quite some time, they ended up with a 15th consecutive league defeat at this ground. For Guardiola, it was a 12th win in 13 meetings with Howe. And from City, it was a message to their challengers. Read More Kevin De Bruyne facing up to four months out and may require surgery Manchester City’s Super Cup victory shows that Cole Palmer is a gem to be treasured Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola sets sights on Club World Cup