For the first time since 1999, Inter Milan has remained undefeated in their last six Serie A Milan derbies. The crisis-hit football club secured a boosting win 3-2 over city rivals, AC Milan in a fiercely entertaining Serie A Derby della Madonnina on Sunday. The win has enabled them to virtually leapfrog above AC Milan and into the third place in the Italian Serie A table.

Matias Vecino put Inter in the lead at precisely three minutes after the commencement of the game when he fired a shot at close range after a teammate headed the ball his way.

Samir Handanovic, the goalkeeper, was also in top form as he made several saves that denied AC Milan duo Hakan Calhanoglu and Lucas Paqueta some goals. When the first half was about to come to a conclusion, Milan Skriniar headed widely for Inter, narrowly missing the target at that juncture.

Six minutes into the second half and Stefan De Vrij doubled Inter’s lead by heading home the ball from 12 yards out. However, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Chelsea’s loanee, scored a goal for AC Milan about six minutes later, thereby making it 2-1. This raised the hopes of Milan, and their morale received a boost. 

Matteo Politano was brought in the 18-yard box when he was tripped by Samu Castillejo, and a penalty was awarded. Lautaro Martinez was able to restore the two-goal advantage of Inter by netting home the ball from the spot in the 67th minute of the game. That made the game 3-1.

Milan further reduced the deficit once again approximately four minutes later when Mateo Musacchio slammed in from several yards out.

Andrea Conti, an AC Milan substitute was initially handed a red card when he fouled Martinez in the 87th minute of the match. However, a brief VAR review made the referee to downgrade the punishment as a yellow card offense.

But Luciano Spalletti, Inter Milan’s coach protested this decision vehemently and had to be sent off to the locker room.

Danilo D’Ambrosio made an astonishing block which kept Patrick Cutrone’s effort out during the added time, and Inter was able to hold on until they secured all three points.

This outstanding Serie A derby win has made it 53 points for Inter – from 23 games – and two points as well as a place above city rivals, AC Milan.

The top four on the Italian Serie A table – which consist of Juventus, Napoli, Inter Milan, and AC Milan – qualify for Champion’s League next season. 

Roma is positioned fifth with four points behind AC Milan.

It has been an exciting season, indeed as the Rossoneri came into the match on a straight run of five consecutive wins in the league while Inter can only boast of only one win of its last 5 games in all competitions, thus making their Serie A standings look dismal.

Several Inter players were out with injury and their forward, Mauro Icardi is still out of commission. He has not set foot on the pitch for over a month since he was stripped of his captaincy amid the imbroglio of his long-drawn-out contract negotiations.