Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

AC Milan1 - 2Inter Milan

sportsmole.co.uk, 22 April 2024, 20:44
Inter Milan produced a dominant display to beat their arch-rivals AC Milan 2-0 and clinch their 20th Serie A title with five games to spare.

Francesco Acerbi took advantage of some lax Milan defending to head the Nerazzurri into the lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

After spurning several chances to double their advantage, Inter finally grabbed a deserved second through Marcus Thuram's 49th-minute effort.

Fikayo Tomori pulled a goal back in the closing stages to set up a nervy finish before tensions spilt over in stoppage time as Theo Hernandez, Denzel Dumfries and Davide Calabria.

Inter saw out the remaining moments to clinch a famous derby win and seal their first Scudetto since the 2020-21 season.

As for Simone Inzaghi, he can celebrate his first Serie A title as manager, adding to the three Coppa Italia trophies and five Italian Super Cups he has already won during his coaching career.

Acerbi gives Inter an early lead

With the title in their sights, the Nerazzurri required just 18 minutes to hit the front against their city rivals at San Siro.

Federico Dimarco's near-post corner was met by Benjamin Pavard, whose neat flick-on allowed an unmarked Acerbi to head home his third goal of the season.

Serie A top scorer Lautaro Martinez then spurned a gilt-edged opportunity, sending the ball high and wide from Dimarco's low cross.

After being put under significant pressure, Milan finally offered a meaningful goal threat just before the half-hour mark, with Rafael Leao's driving his left-foot strike at Yann Sommer.

Inter should have added a second when Nicolo Barella teed up Marcus Thuram, but the French strike could only guide his strike wide of Mike Maignan's goal.

Maignan's opposite number was then required to make a fine stop to deny Calabria from scoring his first goal of the season.

Inter launched an incisive counterattack from Sommer's superb save to create the opening for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to sting the palms of Maignan.

Inter prevail to clinch Scudetto

The Nerazzurri may have missed the chance to double their advantage before the break, but they needed just four second-half minutes to beat Maignan for a second time.

Thuram drove inside from the left flank before picking out the bottom corner with a driven shot from the edge of the box.

Leao attempted to quickly halve the deficit, but his powerful strike was ultimately kept out by a diving Sommer.

The contest appeared to be petering towards its conclusion until Tomori nodded home after Sommer had pushed Matteo Gabbia's header onto the post.

With momentum in their favour, Noah Okafor went close to finding an equaliser, only to see his prodded effort cleared off the line.

The emotions ultimately boiled over in stoppage time as Hernandez and Dumfries received their marching orders for their involvement in a melee, before Calabria saw red for striking Davide Frattesi in the face.

Following a dramatic conclusion, referee Andrea Colombo blew the final whistle to signal the end of Inter's successful title bid.

While Inter will celebrate winning the title against their rivals, the pressure will mount on Milan boss Stefano Piolo after overseeing a Europa League exit and a derby defeat in the last two games.

Top News

22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal broke an English football record in their 5-1 Premier League thrashing of Crystal Palace on Saturday, but it came at a significant cost, as Bukayo Saka was taken off with a suspected hamstring problem in the first half. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku is allegedly generating interest from at least five clubs. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona reportedly remain fully behind head coach Hansi Flick despite the team's latest title setback against Atletico Madrid on Saturday night. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Southampton's new head coach Ivan Juric is one not to be messed with as his physical scrap with Torino's sporting director showed. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Seeking to pick up a third straight home win in the Primeira Liga, Vitoria de Guimaraes play host to Nacional at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques on Monday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is reportedly looking for the Red Devils to build a new scouting team in Portugal in a bid to unearth the next Cristiano Ronaldo. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is reportedly not interested in signing Manchester United attacker Alejandro Garnacho during next summer's transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool must take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur's considerable weaknesses and will be confident of victory on Sunday according to Reds expert David Lynch. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The January transfer window is almost here and clubs around the UK and Europe are lining up moves as they look to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Union Saint-Jean vs. Monaco (Sunday, 1.45pm) On Sunday, in a David vs. Goliath affair, Union Saint-Jean can pull off one of the biggest upsets in Coupe de France history when they take on Monaco in the round of 64 at Stadium de Toulouse. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep vs. Antalyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) After their Turkish Cup victory in midweek, Gaziantep will now turn their attention to the Turkish Super Lig, with Antalyaspor visiting the Kalyon Stadyumu in Sunday's gameweek 17 encounter. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Braga (Sunday, 5.00pm) Still reeling from crashing out of the Taca de Portugal, Santa Clara return to action in the Primeira Liga when they play host to Braga at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sparta vs. Ajax (Sunday, 11.15am) Ajax will be looking to end the year on a high when they travel to Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel to take on a stuttering Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia vs. Alaves (Sunday, 1.00pm) Valencia will attempt to claim their third league when they welcome relegation rivals Alaves to Mestalla for Sunday's crucial La Liga encounter. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma vs. Parma (Sunday, 11.30am) Both struggling in the bottom half of the Serie A standings, Roma and Parma will hope for an early Christmas gift when they meet at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk VfL Bochum vs. Heidenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) In a relegation six-pointer, VfL Bochum will hope to defeat Heidenheim when they welcome them to Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Sunday in their 15th Bundesliga game of the season. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Dundee Utd vs. Celtic (Sunday, 12.00pm) Celtic, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, will travel to Tannadice Park on Sunday afternoon to face Dundee United. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 2.00pm) Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League for a brief time at least when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk South American giants Palmeiras have reportedly sent an 'initial proposal' to Fulham for midfielder Andreas Pereira. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Nuno Espirito Santo will rival Arne Slot to win the Premier League's Manager of the Year award. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona want to sever ties with attacker Ansu Fati at the earliest opportunity in the January transfer window but the player is rebelling against a move, according to a report. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has confirmed that he wants to remain at the Allianz Arena despite links with a return to the Premier League next year. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Serie A powerhouses Napoli have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire on a free transfer next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Sorloth scored a last-gasp winner as Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to go top of the La Liga table. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after sustaining a suspected hamstring problem in Saturday's 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have written a new page of English football history thanks to their 5-1 destruction of London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday's Premier League derby. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Round 17 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig will be wrapped up with a clash between two sides from the Marmara region, as Istanbul Basaksehir welcome Kasimpasa to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Monday evening. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Leicester loan star Facundo Buonanotte wants to see a Tottenham forward join him so they can rekindle their partnership. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal's rivals will hate it but they can definitely claim London is red after their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus continued his resurgence with two goals as the Gunners demolished Crystal Palace 5-1 in the Premier League at Selhurst Park.