Milan hit back from two goals behind and equalised with the last kick of the game to force an extraordinary 2-2 draw against Internazionale on Saturday as the historic derby was played at lunchtime for the first time and with both clubs under Chinese ownership.

Inter appeared to be cruising after Antonio Candreva and Mauro Icardi scored to give them a 2-0 half-time lead before Alessandro Romagnoli pulled one back with seven minutes left. Milan then won a corner in the seventh minute of stoppage time, Inter failed to clear and Cristián Zapata managed to force the ball back towards goal at the far post.

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It hit the underside of the crossbar and was hooked away by Gary Medel but the referee, aided by goalline technology, signalled that the ball had crossed the line, prompting wild celebrations among the Milan players. There was not even time for the game to restart.

The result kept Milan sixth in Serie A, inside the European places, while Inter stayed outside in seventh, two points behind their rivals.

The match was played less than 48 hours after Milan were sold to a Chinese-led consortium in a €740m (£627m) deal, following in the footsteps of Inter who have been owned by retail giant Suning Commerce Group since June.

The lunchtime kick-off, the first in 218 meetings of the old rivals, was designed for the Asian television market but was criticised by local fans. Media reports predicted a potential worldwide television audience of 862m viewers.

Later on Saturday Juventus dispatched bottom-side Pescara 2-0 with goals from Gonzalo Higuaín, taking his season’s tally to 29. The result extended their lead at the top of Serie A after Roma were held to a 1-1 draw by Atalanta in the Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio’s hopes of catching either their Rome rivals or Napoli to earn a place in next season’s Champions League appear over after they could only salvage a 2-2 draw from their trip to Genoa, via Luis Alberto’s added-time equaliser.

Little changed at the bottom of the table after Palermo picked up a point in a 0-0 draw with Bologna, Crotone held Torino 1-1, and Empoli earned a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina which maintained their four-point gap above the drop zone.