AC Milan vs. Inter Milan result: Rafael Leao sparkles as champions hold on for derby win
AC Milan vs. Inter Milan result: Rafael Leao sparkles as champions hold on for derby winRafael Leao scored twice and set up another as AC Milan claimed victory in the Derby della Madonnina despite a second-half fightback by Inter Milan.
Simone Inzaghi’s side started to lead the pack contrary to the rules following 21 minutes when Marcelo Brozovic burst through the resistance safeguard to move a completion past AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
However, defending Serie A champions AC Milan responded quickly and restored parity through Leao, who found the far corner of the net after Inter conceded possession cheaply in the middle of the pitch.
AC Milan continued to dominate and took the lead nine minutes into the second half with Olivier Giroud guiding a shot past Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic after good work by Leao down the left.
And Leao scored a classic Milan derby goal to make it 3-1 to the hosts, beating his man with a wonderful piece of skill before sliding the finish into the far corner.
This forced Inzaghi into a series of changes and Edin Dzeko made an immediate impact off the bench, finishing from a Matteo Darmian cross to give Inter hope of a comeback.
But AC Milan held on to leapfrog their rivals and inflict a second defeat of the season on Inter.
Leao the difference-maker
Leao was voted Player of the Season in Serie A last season as AC Milan took the scudetto, and the 23-year-old was in sparkling form in this derby as he made the difference for his team, scoring twice and assisting another. Inter couldn’t handle his direct running down the left wing.
In this form, there’s no stopping Leao and AC Milan will need the Portuguese international to be sharp as they start their Champions League campaign next week. At 23, there’s still time for Leao to improve further. On the basis of this performance, he could become one of the best players in the world.
Inzaghi to face questions
Inter were distinctly second best until Inzaghi made changes to his team in the second half. The biggest change saw Dzeko introduced and the Bosnian striker made an immediate impact, finding the back of the net to give Inter hope of a comeback. From that point on, it was a more open match.
Romelu Lukaku was missing for Inter, and so most expected Dzeko to perform the role he did for Inzaghi last season, but he was overlooked from the start for Joaquin Correa who did little to influence the match. The Inter manager will face questions about his team selection after this.
Maignan came up big
Had it not been for the actions of Maignan in the final 30 minutes of this match, Inter might have walked away with something to show for their late fightback. Indeed, the French goalkeeper made a series of stunning saves as the away team looked for an equaliser.
Of course, AC Milan fans already know what Maignan is capable of after an impressive debut season for the club last term, but it wasn’t just that he made a number of solid saves — he was a commanding figure in claiming high crosses into his box. When he needed to, Maignan came up big.
AC Milan vs. Inter Milan final score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| AC Milan | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Inter Milan | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Goals:
INT — Marcelo Brozovic — 21 mins.
ACM — Rafael Leao — 28 mins.
ACM — Olivier Giroud — 54 mins.
ACM – Rafael Leao — 61 mins.
INT — Edin Dzeko — 67 mins.
AC Milan vs. Inter Milan updates and highlights from San Siro derby
Full-time: AC Milan 3, Inter Milan 2
FULL TIME: The Italian champions claim all three points in the derby! They probably deserve it on the balance of the 90 minutes, but Inter did all they could to fight back from 3-1 down. They just gave themselves too much work to do!
90+3 mins: Time is running out for Inter if they are to claim something from this match. AC Milan are easily defending the long balls that are now being played forward.
90+1 mins: Maignan does brilliantly to claim a high cross into the AC Milan penalty area and the champions are now doing all they can to wind down the clock and ensure that Inter don’t get another opportunity to find the back of the net and snatch a point.
90 mins: There will be fives minutes of stoppage time played at the end of the match.
88 mins: Will there be one more chance left in this match for Inter to snatch a point? The way this match has been trending, you certainly wouldn’t count against it. AC Milan are sinking deeper. It feels like they are settling for what they have.
86 mins: Inter subs: Darmian and De Vrij OFF, Gosens and D’Ambrosio ON.
84 mins: AC Milan subs: Calabria and Tonali OFF, Kjaer and Pobega ON.
80 mins: This match has become so incredibly open since the changes made by Inter. Inzaghi surely has to regret not starting Dzeko. He has offered a lot of threat when he has been on the pitch. AC Milan aren’t in control of this match as they were not so long ago.
77 mins: WHAT A SAVE! Calhanoglu lines up a shot from 20 yards out, it was heading for the top corner of the net, but Maignan somehow manages to reach it and makes an astonishing save! That will take some beating as the save of the season!
74 mins: Dzeko is denied! Leao of all people gives away the ball in the middle of the pitch and Inter come flooding forward. But Maignan makes the save with his feet to stop Dzeko from scoring his second goal off the bench. Inter are giving this a right go!
73 mins: AC Milan subs – Messias and Giroud OFF, Saelemaekers and Origi ON
70 mins: Maignan saves! Martinez gets up above Tomori and heads down into the ground. However, Maignan springs into action and makes a reflex save to prevent Inter from scoring an equaliser! What a response this has been from Inzaghi’s team!
69 mins: MARTINEZ… over! All of a sudden, the match is incredibly stretched and Martinez is released in behind the AC Milan defence. He takes the shot when he might have got himself closer and the ball flashes over the target!
67 mins: GOAL! AC Milan 3 Inter 2 (67′ Dzeko) – Inter are back in the match and Dzeko has made an immediate impact off the bench! He gets to the near post and finishes off the pass from Darmian. Inter have given themselves hope of a comeback. What a match!
63 mins: Inter subs – Barella, Bastoni and Correa OFF, Dzeko, Mkhitaryan and Dimarco ON. Inzaghi rings the changes, but has he left it too late? Is this match gone for Inter?
62 mins: AC Milan sub – De Ketelaere OFF, Brahim ON. Pioli makes his first change of the match and Brahim will get the final 30 minutes.
61 mins: GOAL! AC Milan 3 (61′ Leao) Inter 1 – What a goal! Sensational from Leao who glides past the Inter defender with a wonderful piece of skill and slides the finish into the far corner of the net! AC Milan have a 3-1 lead in the derby!
55 mins: The marking for that Giroud goal was atrocious from an Inter point of view. They had three centre backs inside the area, but none of them picked up Giroud and he had the time and space to guide home the finish from 12 yards out.
54 mins: GOAL! AC Milan 2 (54′ Giroud) Inter 1 – Giroud loves a goal in a big game and he has another one here! Leao picked out the French striker, he struck his shot into the ground, but it had the direction to find the far corner of the Inter net!
53 mins: Straight into the wall! Calhanoglu lines up the freekick, but that was bellow his usual standards. He smashed the strike straight into the wall. The Inter midfielder went for power over placement and it didn’t work.
51 mins: BOOKING – De Ketelaere. The young Belgian takes a booking for bundling over Correa as he attempted to take the shot.
50 mins: Wide of the post! Theo, not for the first time in this match, gets his head on the end of a freekick delivery into the box, but he could only guide his effort wide of the target. He had to twist his neck to even direct that towards the goal.
48 mins: Inter have got to do a better job of keeping the ball in this second half. They lost possession cheaply too many times in the opening 45 minutes and AC Milan made them pay for this by scoring the equaliser.
46 mins: The second half is underway! No changes made by either manager.
45+1 mins: HALF TIME: AC Milan 1-1 Inter – The two rivals go in level at the break, but AC Milan have had the better of the match so far. Brozovic opened the scoring, but that came against the run of play. Both goals came from defensive mistakes.
45 mins: There will be one minute of stoppage time played at the end of the first half.
42 mins: Theo gets up well and hangs in the air, but he can’t control his header from a Bennacer freekick and Inter have the goal kick.
40 mins: Tonali takes the freekick, but he strikes it at his own player. Inter need to do a better job of handling the AC Milan press. They have given the ball away in the middle of the pitch a number of times in this first half. They have been poor since scoring the opener.
38 mins: BOOKING – Brozovic. The referee has been card happy in this first half and Brozovic is the latest player to be flashed a yellow. He committed a foul on the edge of his box.
35 mins: Tonali! And then Theo! First, Handanovic saves from Tonali, then Theo was a shot flash just over the target! The momentum is well and truly with AC Milan! Can they make it count? 10 minutes until the half time break.
34 mins: Giroud shoots over the top! A pass is played in behind for Giroud, the AC Milan striker waits for it to drop and strikes it on the half-volley, but the ball flies over the target! Inter look vulnerable at the back. The home team look in the mood now!
31 mins: BOOKING – Giroud. The AC Milan striker is shown a yellow card for a flick out at Skriniar. Not sure there was much intention in that.
28 mins: GOAL! AC Milan 1 (28′ Leao) Inter 1 – An immediate reply from AC Milan! They won the ball back in the middle of the pitch, Tonali plays the pass out to Leao and he makes no mistake in shooting across Handanovic and into the far corner of the net!
25 mins: That goal might have come against the run of play, but it was a very well constructed move by Inter. Pioli won’t be happy with the way the AC Milan defence was split in two, though.
21 mins: GOAL! AC Milan 0 Inter 1 (21′ Brozovic) – Inter have the opener! Brozovic bursts right through the middle of the AC Milan defence and the Croatian midfielder shows good composure when he needed it to roll the finish past Maignan and into the net!