Electric AC Milan trump Inter in five-goal derby thriller
Simone Inzaghi’s men were faced with the challenge of breaching one of the best defences in Europe, as no side in the continent’s top five leagues had kept more clean sheets this calendar year than Milan (14). That proved no problem for the Nerazzurri though, who made cutting through look remarkably easy. Joaquín Correa, stepping into Romelu Lukaku’s role, slotted in Marcelo Brozović, who was completely untracked and finished with aplomb.
Stunned by conceding the opener, the Rossoneri fought back in emphatic fashion to equalise. Sandro Tonali’s perfectly-weighted pass allowed Leão to shoot first time, and the Portuguese expertly found the far corner. Milan’s intensity only grew after the leveller, with Olivier Giroud and Theo Hernández missing spectacular efforts to take the lead.
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Stefano Pioli’s men completed their comeback and took the lead after the interval. Leão’s pull-back from the left found Giroud who had found space, and the Frenchman’s first-time effort bobbled into the far corner, out of reach of Samir Handanović. The same pair linked up again on the hour mark to double the hosts lead with a truly spectacular goal. Giroud’s delicate flick laid the ball off for Leão, who surged past Alessandro Bastoni and Stefan De Vrij before slotting home for his second of the contest.
Inzaghi turned to his bench and Edin Džeko made an instant impact to halve the visitors’ deficit within three minutes of his introduction, meeting Matteo Darmian’s cross at the near post and firing past Mike Maignan. The momentum was firmly with Inter and the hosts’ French shot-stopper was on hand to deny Lautaro Martínez’s header, before producing a spectacular save to keep out Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s thunderbolt from range.
Despite intense Inter pressure, Milan held on to secure a priceless victory over their arch-rivals. The Rossoneri are now unbeaten in 21 Serie A games whilst a second consecutive defeat for Inter leaves them outside the top four, losing a derby as the designated away side for the first time in the last seven meetings.