Pulisic and Maignan shine as AC Milan claim derby win over Inter

Pulisic and Maignan the heroes as AC Milan get derby day win over Inter

AC Milan laid down a potentially crucial marker in the Serie A title race after a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, extending their unbeaten league run to 11 games (W7, D4).

Both firmly in a close-knit race for the Scudetto, these two Italian giants came into this clash separated by just two points in the table – but the early minutes didn’t reflect that narrow gap, as the Nerazzurri were quicker out of the traps.

Firstly, Marcus Thuram manoeuvred his body brilliantly to meet Federico Dimarco's cross, producing a diving header that Mike Maignan superbly parried to safety.

Francesco Acerbi then saw his own header – via a Hakan Calhanoglu corner – rattle the post in a lucky escape for the Rossoneri.

Inter undoubtedly continued playing the more free-flowing football as the half wore on, with Maignan called into action again to make another fine save, pushing away Lautaro Martinez’s right-footed volley shortly before half-time.

However, Alexis Saelemaekers almost landed a sucker-punch, rifling a left-footed strike over the bar after Davide Bartesaghi's delivery was cleared into the Belgian's path.

And Christian Pulisic then came even closer to giving Milan an unlikely lead, firing narrowly wide with a speculative long-range strike shortly before half-time.

Despite Inter’s first-half dominance, it was Milan who struck just nine minutes into the second period through Pulisic, when Yann Sommer could only push Saelemaekers’ strike into the path of the USA international, who clinically fired home the loose ball.

Buoyed by their lead, Massimiliano Allegri’s side continued clicking into gear, with Youssouf Fofana next to test Sommer after being teed up by Saelemaekers.

However, that feel-good factor turned to trepidation as the clock ticked into the final 20 minutes, after Strahinja Pavlovic conceded a penalty for treading on Thuram's foot inside the box.

With penalty taker Calhanoglu having converted all eight of his previous spot kicks taken for club and country in 2025, the blue majority inside the San Siro awaited an equaliser with bated breath, but Maignan kept his nerve, diving away to the Turk’s favoured bottom-left corner and parrying away the loose ball with lightning-quick reactions.

Ultimately, Allegri’s side had done enough to earn the bragging rights, and are now unbeaten in six clashes against the Nerazzurri (W4, D2).

The win has moved them up to second in the table and above their city rivals, who have dropped down to fourth after seeing a three-match winning run in Serie A come to an end.