The Milan derby is always a fascinating encounter between two of Italian football’s greatest clubs, and with the San Siro being on the verge of ‘extinction’ as it were, the stakes have been raised even higher. In tonight’s clash between the battle of Inter and AC, it was Inter who managed to give themselves a huge boost in the race for the title.

Ante Rebic was able to open the scoring for AC Milan late in the first half, and before Inter knew what had even hit them, Ibrahimovic marked his return to the derby with a goal as AC attempted to push themselves further up the table and into contention for the European spots.

Pushing back

After half time, however, Inter Milan came out all guns blazing as they went in search of victory. Marcelo Brozovic’s volley and Matias Vecino’s tidy finish managed to level things up, immediately putting AC Milan on the back foot once again.

Stefan de Vrij managed to give Inter the lead with 20 minutes remaining, and then in injury time, Romelu Lukaku was able to seal the three points before heading over to the corner flag and placing his flag atop it.

Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte was clearly pleased about the win, but saw that there was a long road ahead.

“It’s still very early to talk about something we can only dream of for now,” Conte said.

An all-time classic

“We can have a dream. It’s a very intense period for us coming up and after that we’ll have a better idea of our potential and our real capabilities.

“We can’t achieve everything from one day to the next, but we are building. These guys proved they have great strength and guts today.”

While Juventus may still be viewed as the favourites to take home the Serie A title, this was a clear sign of intent. Inter stuck their flag in the ground and made it crystal clear that they were not going to go quietly into the night, and in truth, that’s the best thing they could’ve done.

Match Report

Inter Milan: Padelli (5.5), Skriniar (6.5), de Vrij (7.5), Godin (7), Young (7), Barella (7), Brozovic (7.5), Vecino (7.5), Candreva (7), Lukaku (8), Sanchez (7.5), Moses (6.5), Biraghi (6), Eriksen (6.5)

AC Milan: Donnarumma (5), Conti (6), Kjaer (6), Romagnoli (6.5), Hernandez (6), Castillejo (6.5), Kessie (6), Bennacer (6.5), Rebic (7), Calhanoglu (6.5), Ibrahimovic (8), Leao (6), Bonaventura (6), Paqueta (6)

Referee: Fabio Maresca

Goals: Brozovic, Vecino, de Vrij, Lukaku :: Rebic, Ibrahimovic

Yellow Cards: Skriniar, Vecino, Barella, Lukaku, Conti, Kessie

Red Cards: N/A