AC Milan beat Inter 3-1 in a breathtaking Derby della Madonnina at San Siro on Saturday night, as Diego Moreira produced a goal and two assists in a first-half blitz that inflicted the league leaders' first Serie A defeat of the season and cut their advantage at the top to four points.
A Start From Another Era
Ruben Amorim's side needed a response after their first defeat of the season at Bologna in midweek, and they produced one of the great derby starts. As we wrote before kick-off, this derby could define Amorim's season — and Milan played like a team that knew it.
It took just three minutes and 45 seconds to break the deadlock, the fastest Milan goal in this fixture since Alexandre Pato struck after 43 seconds in April 2011. Moreira got down the right, checked back and stood up a cross that Christian Pulisic twisted home with a header from six yards into the far bottom corner — the American's fourth goal in his last eight derbies, a day after signing his new Milan contract through 2031.
Six minutes later it was two. A smart short-corner routine found Adrien Rabiot peeling away from his marker, and the Frenchman swept the ball first time with the inside of his left foot, in off the far post. No side had led this derby 2-0 inside ten minutes since Inter themselves in 1974. Rabiot, Mario Gila and Moreira had all been doubts before the game; Milan brought all three back, and all three shaped the night.
Inter Fight Back — Then Moreira Settles It
Inter, missing the injured Lautaro Martinez and with Cristian Chivu springing a 3-4-2-1 shape, refused to fold. Manuel Akanji flicked on a corner at the near post and Alessandro Bastoni crouched to nod in from six yards on 22 minutes, his first derby goal. Suddenly it was a different game: Mike Maignan flew to push a Hakan Calhanoglu screamer over the bar, then made an astonishing one-handed reaction save to deny Djed Spence from close range.
But every time Inter threatened, Moreira answered. Two minutes before half-time the Belgian curled a free kick over the wall into the near corner, leaving Josep Martinez unsighted — the 500th goal in the history of this derby in Serie A, as Football Italia's match report recorded. Pulisic's derby love affair, detailed by USA Today, had opened the door; Moreira walked through it and took the game with him.
The second half brought pressure but no comeback. Inter thought they had a lifeline on 75 minutes when the referee pointed to the spot for handball against Gila, only for VAR to show the Henrikh Mkhitaryan cross had hit the defender squarely on the chest. The penalty was overturned, Milan were pinned back for the final 20 minutes, and the closest anyone came was Alphadjo Cisse's swerving strike that Martinez scrambled out of the far top corner. Koni De Winter, Moreira and Carlos Augusto were booked; there were no red cards.
So What Does It Mean?
This is Milan's fourth consecutive victory in the Derby della Madonnina — they have not lost to Inter since April 2024 — and it changes the shape of the title race. Inter stay top on 25 points, but their unbeaten record is gone and the gap is down to four, with Milan on 21 from ten games. For Amorim, stung at Bologna in midweek and missing Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Samuel Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Alexis Saelemaekers, this was the statement win his season needed, delivered by the three returning players he gambled on. For Chivu, the lesson is harsher: without Lautaro, Inter's Plan B created pressure, corners and territory, but no second goal.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: Derbies are supposed to be tight. This one was decided by Diego Moreira, who assisted twice, scored a free kick for the ages and owned the biggest night of the Serie A season. Milan are not chasing Inter any more — they are hunting them. Was this the night the title race truly opened up? Let us know in the comments.
