AC Milan kept the Serie A title race burning with a 1-0 derby victory over Inter Milan, completing a league double over their city rivals for the first time since the 2010/11 season. It was also Inter’s first league defeat since the reverse fixture back in November.
Inter had not won a derby since April 2024, and their poor run against Milan almost continued early on when Yann Sommer gifted possession to Christian Pulisic, who found Luka Modric, but the Croatian’s strike from 20 yards just missed the target.
That was Milan’s only real attacking moment of the opening half hour. Inter’s own threat was limited to a pair of Federico Dimarco efforts, one blocked and one over the bar. Henrikh Mkhitaryan came closest for the visitors, driving through the Milan defence and into the box, but his shot was too close to Mike Maignan.
That chance appeared to wake Milan up. A minute later they were in front, as Youssouf Fofana played in Pervis Estupinan, who fired powerfully into the roof of the net. The hosts pressed for a second before half-time through Alexis Saelemaekers and Adrien Rabiot, while Nicolo Barella curled wide at the other end.
Inter came out with more purpose after the break. Piotr Zielinski tested Maignan at his near post, and a deep cross eventually found Mkhitaryan, who laid off to Dimarco, but he blazed over from close range. Milan responded through Rafael Leao and Fofana, whose fierce effort was spilled but recovered by Sommer.
Denzel Dumfries caused problems with a powerful run on the hour but could not produce a finish to match. The game lost momentum after injuries to Rabiot and Alessandro Bastoni, and Inter’s late pressure amounted to little, with two penalty appeals also dismissed.
The gap at the top of Serie A is now down to seven points with 10 games remaining. Milan recorded just a sixth win in 11 league matches, while Inter’s eight-game winning run in the division came to an end, having now won just twice in their last six across all competitions.
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