AC Milan produced a breathtaking first-half blitz to beat Inter 3-1 in the Derby della Madonnina at San Siro on Saturday night, with Diego Moreira setting up Christian Pulisic and Adrien Rabiot inside ten minutes before scoring a stunning free kick himself to inflict Inter's first Serie A defeat of the season.
Milan arrived fifth, seven points behind their city rivals, knowing defeat would leave them ten adrift. Instead they tore into Inter from the first whistle. Moreira checked inside on the right and whipped in a perfect cross for Pulisic to nod home after three minutes and 45 seconds — the fastest Rossoneri goal against Inter in Serie A since Alexandre Pato scored after 43 seconds in April 2011, as Football Italia noted on the night.
Two up in ten minutes, then a free kick for history
There was another Moreira assist six minutes later, a corner routine finding Rabiot to sweep in first time from 12 yards. No side had led a Milan derby 2-0 inside ten minutes since Inter themselves in 1974, and Milan's own fans had not seen their team do it since 1932.
Inter responded like leaders. Alessandro Bastoni headed in from Manuel Akanji's flick on 22 minutes, and the game briefly tilted. But two minutes before the break Moreira curled a free kick over the wall and inside the near post — the 500th goal in the history of the Milan derby in Serie A, and the perfect end to a perfect half for the Belgian.
Inter push, VAR intervenes, Milan hold
Inter dominated possession after the restart and thought they had a route back on 74 minutes when the referee pointed to the spot — only for VAR to overturn it, the Mkhitaryan cross having hit Mario Gila on the chest, not the arm. Marcus Thuram headed wide under pressure, Mike Maignan punched away a series of corners, and late substitute Alphadjo Cisse nearly made it 4-1, Josep Martinez scrambling his swerving strike away. Moreira, booked for dissent and visibly running on empty, was replaced by Omari Hutchinson on 89 minutes to a standing ovation.
Pulisic's opener continued his love affair with this fixture — four goals in his past eight games against Inter, per USA Today — and came a day after he signed a new Milan deal. His third goal of the season, all in his last six matches, was the spark for Milan's fourth consecutive derby victory.
So What Does It Mean?
Milan move to 21 points, four behind Inter, whose perfect start is over. Roma's 5-2 win at Udinese earlier on Saturday means the top of Serie A is suddenly crowded: Inter and Lazio on 25, Roma on 24, Milan on 21. For Inter, a first defeat raises a real question — a defence breached three times in 43 minutes had no answer to Milan's right side. For Milan, beating the leaders with their two big questions — Moreira's end product and Pulisic's future — both answered in one night changes the mood of their whole season.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Derbies are supposed to be cages, not showcases — but Moreira turned this one into his personal audition and passed it in 43 minutes. Two assists, a historic free kick, and Inter's unbeaten record gone: this was the night a winger became the main man at San Siro, and the night the Serie A title race stopped being a procession. Can Milan now back it up against the smaller sides who have tripped them up all season?
