Inter win thrilling Milan derby to go on top of Italian League
AC Milan’s Ante Rebic (right) vies for the ball with Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic during their Italian League match on Sunday. Associated Press
Inter with 54 points are tied with Juventus, who were stunned by lowly Verona a day earlier, but are ahead in the standing on the goal difference.
Inter staged a mesmerizing second half turn-around after Ante Rebic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic ahd put Milan 2-0 ahead.
The race for the title has heated up as just one point separate top three teams with Lazio, who are one point adrift, being in third after Felipe Caicedo scored the only goal in a hard-fought win at Parma earlier on Sunday.
“It’s a special night because in the first half we were in great difficulty like we hadn’t been this season. There was the risk of taking a hammering,” said Inter boss Antonio Conte.
“Credit to these lads because they were able to resist the blows which means that we are ready for something good.
“It’s absolutely too early to talk about things that we can still dream of today.”
Milan had dominated the first half with Inter struggling to deal with Ibrahimovic, who soared above Diego Godin before knocking down for Rebic to tap the opener past Daniele Padelli.
Stefan De Vrij blocked another cross to deny Rebic a second tap in but Franck Kessie flicked on for a waiting Ibrahimovic to turn in the second.
The comeback began five minutes after the break when Brozovic lashed home a stunning volley and two minutes later Mattias Vecino finshed off an Alexis Sanchez pass to level the scores.
De Vrij put Inter deservedly ahead with a superb diving header with 20 minutes to go, and after Ibrahimovic hit the post for Milan Romelu Lukaku then headed home substitute Victor Moses’ cross three minutes into injury time to maintain Inter’s charge for a first Serie A title in a decade.
Milan’s collapse means they missed the chance to move into the Europa League places and sit 10th.
Caicedo kept Lazio’s own dream of a first ‘Scudetto’ in 20 years alive as a 1-0 win over Parma moved the Romans second in Serie A.
Simone Inzaghi’s side are right in the title discussion after extending their unbeaten run to 18 league games.
Elsewhere, Mario Balotelli’s Brescia earned a point with a 1-1 draw at home against Udinese in new coach Diego Lopez’s first game in charge of the basement club.
Jeremie Boga scored late to grab a 2-1 win for Sassuolo at SPAL.
Agencies
