AC Milan defeats Inter in crucial derby

AC Milan recorded their first Derby della Madonnina win since September 2022 with a 2-1 win at the San Siro.

The victory shocked many as no one gave Paulo Fonseca’s men a chance to get a draw due to the quality of their Topponent, having failed to win in their last six meetings.

The game was heading to a draw before Matteo Gabbia’s header rescued Paulo Fonseca’s job.

Milan had gone ahead through Christian Pulisic before Federico Di Marco drew level for the hosts.

Gabbia ensured Diavolo ended their Derby della Madonnina losing streak to shock rivals with the last-gasp winner, which left Yann Sommer rooted to a spot.

 Sommer was called into action when he made the first save on Morata after good work from Tijjani Reijnders, and Pulisic went on a solid run, only to hesitate until the finish.

Milan showed their determination as Pulisic moments later robbed Henrikh Mkhitaryan in midfield and surged forward through a crowd of players to prod the finish past Sommer.

Inter looked for an equalizer with Lautaro Martinez’s half-volley over from 12 yards going over while Denzel Dumfries knocked down the Dimarco cross.

They eventually restored parity before the half-hour mark as Dimarco knocked down a Nicolò Barella cross-field pass for  Martinez, who drew defenders to him on the edge of the area and went on to dummy a shot to hand it back to Dimarco for the precise angled drive.

Inter almost turned the game around entirely through Marcus Thuram. The Frenchman turned his marker to get the shot away from 10 yards, but Mike Maignan made a fingertip save to push it away from goal.

Milan got another chance to regain the lead within seconds of the restart, but Sommer palmed a Rafael Leao header away from Emerson Royal’s cross and from the by-line. 

Controversy occurred in the 65th minute when the referee awarded a penalty to Milan. Still, on viewing it again on the VAR monitor, he confirmed the ball struck Lautaro Martinez’s shoulder and not his arm.

Maignan got down for the save on Martinez’s volley on the turn, while Gabbia made a decisive block to spark the rapid counter-attack, from which Sommer parried the Leao angled drive.

Gabbia, who had been so strong in defense throughout the match, also popped up at the other end, rising behind Davide Frattesi to nod the Reijnders free kick into the near top corner and give Milan a much-needed victory.

Matteo Darmian could connect well with the ball with a free header on Dimarco’s cross, nodding it over the bar in stoppages.

Noah Okafor had an opportunity to finish off their hosts, but the Swiss international incredibly fired over an open goal with the last kick of the game.