The Milan-Inter derby in Perth on 5 August ended 1-1, with goals from Federico Dimarco and Christopher Nkunku. By Halloween, that match already reads less like a standalone friendly and more like a marker of how quickly both clubs and several of the players involved have moved on.
The names from Perth have shifted quickly
TuttoMercatoWeb's feature on the match is blunt about the speed of the change. Nkunku played 45 minutes of a friendly against Chelsea before being definitively cut by Ruben Amorim, while Youssuf Fofana, who also started that derby, is now making Sevilla's fortunes. Rafa Leao was on the pitch for 27 minutes in Perth and is now at Galatasaray, while Davide Frattesi is now a protagonist with Lazio.
Those are not small footnotes. They are the reason the Perth game feels dated already, even though it was only played in August. The scorers were Dimarco and Nkunku, and the player who scored one of them is already being discussed in a very different context now.
Inter and Milan have also moved into a different contest
The broader backdrop has changed too. Inter are top of Serie A with 25 points from 9 matches, and Milan are fifth with 18 points from 9 matches. Inter have taken 13 points from their last 5 Serie A matches, while Milan have taken 10 points from their last 5.
That gives the Perth draw a different weight on rereading. It is no longer just a summer exhibition in a far-flung venue. It sits against a title chase for Inter and a steadier but less convincing run for Milan, which makes the memory of that 1-1 feel much closer to a sliding door than a fixed point.
The detail that stands out most is still Dimarco's involvement. His 7.02 Serie A rating across 9 appearances fits the idea that he remains central to Inter's current level, while the August meeting now survives mostly as a record of who was there and where they ended up next.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
