Estupinan opens Serie A account to sneak AC Milan past Inter Milan | OneFootball

AC Milan clinched a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Serie A pacesetters Inter Milan in Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina to reignite their faint hopes of winning a landmark 20th Scudetto.

Milan left it late to beat Cremonese on the road last weekend, while Inter eased past Genoa at home, registering their 14th win in 15 league matches to set themselves up perfectly for this showdown.

With ten points separating the sides in the Serie A standings, the Rossoneri had to pull off a league double over their bitter rivals to stay relevant in the title race.

Christian Pulisic inspired Milan to a narrow 1-0 victory in November’s reverse fixture, extending their unbeaten run against the Nerazzurri to six games in all competitions.

Despite sitting comfortably at the top of the table, Cristian Chivu’s men have notoriously struggled in high-profile matches this season.

Their struggles continued tonight, as Yann Sommer made a rookie mistake at the start of the match, but Luka Modric’s shot from the edge of the box flew a whisker wide of the far post.

However, entertainment was at a premium for the majority of the first half, with both teams taking a cautious approach, which favored Inter.

Still, it was the visitors who created the first big chance of the game.

Veteran midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan received a pass at the halfway line and just breezed past his markers to break one-on-one with Mike Maignan. However, his feeble close-range attempt forced a routine save from the Frenchman.

Milan quickly punished the Armenian’s huge miss.

Youssouf Fofana teed up Pervis Estupinan with a defence-splitting pass, with the former Brighton & Hove Albion wing-back hammering the ball home for his first goal in the Rossoneri colours.

A hectic end to the first half could have produced another goal had Massimiliano Allegri’s side shown more composure in the final third.

The runaway leaders were slow to recover from the shock, leaving ample room in front of Sommer’s goal. But Pulisic and Fofana fluffed their lines on the stroke of half-time, throwing Inter a lifeline.

Chivu’s team came agonisingly close to drawing level at the beginning of the second half, as Federico Dimarco had a goal at his mercy, only to sky the ball well over the top despite being left unmarked near the penalty spot.

This time, though, Milan failed to exact immediate punishment. Rafael Leao was too fast for Yann Bisseck, but his wayward touch let him down, sending his erratic shot high into the stands.

It was Milan’s rare break in the second half, as Allegri ordered his troops to stay deep and defend their slender lead, which nearly backfired when Ange-Yoan Bonny misguided his header from just a few yards out.

Forced to chase the result, Inter assumed complete control of possession, although they couldn’t find a way past Milan’s low defensive block.

Despite enjoying 75% possession in the second half, the Nerazzurri mustered just one shot on target. It wasn’t a performance worthy of Serie A’s most prolific side, regardless of the absence of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez.

No matter what they tried, Allegri’s well-drilled defence held firm, completely neutralising the likes of Francesco Pio Esposito, Bonny and Dimarco, all of whom had an evening they would rather forget.

As for Milan, they showed their trademark defensive discipline under Allegri to close the game almost effortlessly. The Rossoneri frustrated their opposition with a compact shape and time-wasting techniques in a classic Allegri fashion.

With ten games left to play, Milan now trail Inter by seven points and can still hope to pip the Nerazzurri to the title, though they can hardly afford another slip-up in the run-in.