Pulisic on target as AC Milan won Derby della Madonnina

AC Milan won Derby della Madonnina for the first time in two years. In their deserved 2-1 victory, Mateo Gabbia netted the late winner to dethrone defending champions Inter. 

Inter’s draw at the Etihad Stadium boosted morale after they drew their first two away Serie A fixtures. Despite scoring in the third minute through Christian Pulisic, AC Milan were defeated by the other English giants Liverpool in midweek.

Their recent head-to-head records also favored the Nerazzurri. From the 2023 Supercoppa Italia staged in Saudi Arabia to the game that confirmed them as champions last season, Simeone Inzaghi’s side was victorious in the previous six games against Stefano Pioli.

Pulisic strikes again in a fiery first-half

While Pioli started life at Al Nassr with an impressive win, the responsibility of ending Milan’s losing streak lies on Paulo Fonseca. The Portuguese coach was also winless against Inter in his previous four encounters as a Roma coach.

However, Milan started the game with real intent. Alvaro Morata had the first attempt on target before the USMNT superstar put them in front in the 10th minute. After dispossessing Henrih Mkhitaryan, the in-form Pulisic scored a superb solo strike. 

Including his goal off the bench against New Zealand, it’s the fourth successive game where Pulisic scored. And it was already his fourth goal for AC Milan as he sets his sights on improving his career-best numbers from last season.

Soon after, Milan’s defensive issues were at the forefront, however. Federico Dimarco, who scored a memorable goal against Mike Maignan in the UEFA Nations League, did it again with a superb finish.

Inter finished the half the better side. Marcus Thuram, who scored in his first two Milan derbies last time out, came close to putting the champions ahead for the first time.

A turning point for Fonseca?

Parma’s winner against Milan scored inside the last 15 minutes. Lazio’s two goals in the 2-2 draw also came after the break. Meanwhile, Inter avoided defeat at Monza with Denzel Dumfries scoring in the 88th minute.

But, once again, Milan surprised many with their response. First, there was a penalty-kick incident involving Lautaro Martinez before VAR overruled it. And they had the best chances of the half with Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham. 

Their efforts finally bore fruit two minutes before the end of regular time. Tijjani Rejinders’ precise delivery was perfectly met by Matteo Gabbia for Milan’s winner. The center-back joined AC Milan at the age of 12.

The win will massively ease the pressure on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the underfire coach Fonseca. They now tied their derby rival in the standing as they only sit three points behind surprise league leaders Torino.

What’s next for Pulisic and the Milan clubs?

AC Milan will play Lecce, who squandered a two-goal lead in injury-time against Parma, at home on Friday. Domestic double winners Bayer Leverkusen awaits the Rossoneri in the second matchday of the Champions League.

In the wake of their first defeat of the season, Inter will be away at Udinese next Saturday. After three successive wins, Udinese lost 3-0 to AS Roma in Ivan Juric’s turbulent debut. In the Champions League, the 2022-23 finalist will next face the 1990-91 champions Red Star Belgrade.

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