Draw in Milan derby suited nobody but the English duo showed they may be the answer to defensive frailties. Sérgio Conceição said last week that he was sick and tired of this transfer window. “A month is far too long,” he argued. “It has not been positive on an emotional level for many of our players.”. The counter-point arrived in the Milan derby on Sunday night. Starting at right-back for the Rossoneri was Kyle Walker, signed on loan from Manchester City a fortnight after he had informed the Premier League champions of his desire for a move. He was outshone on his debut by the man inside him at centre-back, Fikayo Tomori, who has spent this entire window being linked with transfers elsewhere.

First came the offer from Juventus, a €5m loan deal with an obligation to buy for €25m more in the summer. Accounts varied on whether Tomori rejected that move or Conceição blocked it, not wanting to strengthen a rival for Champions League qualification. In any case, Tottenham sought to capitalise with a bid of their own. Milan accepted, but the player said no. Tomori has always been delighted to play for Milan. He told ITV in December that joining from Chelsea in 2021 had been “the best thing I ever did and the best decision I made, not only in football but in life”. He has 164 appearances for the and was a key figure for the side that won Serie A under Stefano Pioli in 2022.

Yet his performances have been on a downward trajectory since. There was a slight decline in the season that followed the Scudetto and a much more pronounced one last term, Tomori making fewer tackles and more positioning mistakes. The trend had continued in this campaign. Against Fiorentina in October, Tomori misjudged a long ball from the goalkeeper David De Gea, leaping at nothing and allowing Moise Kean to steal in behind and set up Albert Gudmundsson’s winner. Days earlier, Tomori had been caught ball-watching as Milan conceded the only goal of their Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

How to explain this apparent decline of a player who only turned 27 in December? He is hardly the only Milan player to take a step backward in this period, for which successive managers share a part of the blame. Pioli’s relationship with his squad deteriorated, while Paulo Fonseca never even built those connections. Tomori was also sidelined for two months by a hamstring tear last season, another casualty in what has felt like a never-ending defensive injury crisis. Pierre Kalulu, a fellow mainstay of that title-winning team, missed 39 games in 2023-24 and then joined Juventus. Strahinja Pavlovic was signed to replace him but competition for playing time with Matteo Gabbia and Malick Thiaw has denied any of them a chance to form settled partnerships.

It is too soon to speak of Milan’s tactical identity under Conceição, who has switched between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. He has talked about wanting to activate a more active press but against Inter on Sunday, his team often fell into a lower block. It was effective for much of the first half, Hakan Calhanoglu struggling to pick through a crowded midfield. Yet Milan’s goal came from the sort of forward harrying that Conceição has encouraged. Tammy Abraham, the third Englishman in Milan’s starting XI, picked Calhanoglu’s pocket and exchanged passes with Ismaël Bennacer, who released Theo Hernández down the left. He fed Rafael Leão, whose shot across goal was parried into the path of Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutchman roofed his finish past a mess of defenders.

The second half was a different story. Inter’s superior quality and depth of options off the bench were brought to bear as they opened a siege on Milan’s goal, hitting the woodwork three times as well as having a goal correctly disallowed – something that had already happened twice in the first half. Right up to the 93rd minute, it appeared as though this was going to be Milan’s evening. They had ridden their luck but also defended assiduously. Walker was more solid than spectacular, but that felt a welcome enough change from the Emerson Royal rollercoaster that has preceded him. Tomori was everywhere, keeping track even with the electric Marcus Thuram. His six tackles were the most of anyone on the pitch.

A man of the match performance and easily his best of the season so far. Did Walker play some part? The latter spoke at his unveiling about needing, and wanting, to learn Italian, but here at least he was able to communicate easily with a new teammate. As tempting as it is to get swept up in a narrative, more evidence is needed before we draw conclusions about their effectiveness together. This was a particular evening: a Milan derby that did not quite feel like one at the start. Police banned Ultras from putting on their usual choreographies amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged criminal ties of some members of organised supporter groups in the city.