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Inter Milan put on a strong performance to defeat AC Milan 2-1 and win their 20th Serie A title with five games remaining.
Francesco Acerbi took advantage of some weak Milan defending to put the Nerazzurri ahead inside the first 20 minutes.
After passing up multiple chances to expand their lead, Inter finally got a deserved second goal in the 49th minute thanks to Marcus Thuram.
Fikayo Tomori equalized in the dying minutes to set up a nail-biting conclusion, but tensions flared in stoppage time as Theo Hernandez, Denzel Dumfries, and Davide Calabria were all sent off.
Inter held on in the dying moments to secure a memorable derby victory and their first Scudetto since 2020-21.
Simone Inzaghi can now celebrate his first Serie A victory as manager, adding to the three Coppa Italia medals and five Italian Super Cups he has won during his coaching career.
Inter Milan beat the Rossoneri to win the title
With the title in their sights, the Nerazzurri needed only 18 minutes to take the lead against their local rivals at San Siro.
Acerbi scored his third goal of the season after Benjamin Pavard skillfully flicked on Federico Dimarco’s near-post corner.
Lautaro Martinez, Serie A’s top scorer, then squandered a golden opportunity, hitting the ball high and wide from Dimarco’s low cross.
After being put under severe pressure, Milan eventually provided a real goal threat shortly before the half-hour mark, with Rafael Leao firing a left-foot strike at Yann Sommer.
Inter should have added a second goal when Nicolo Barella set up Thuram, but the French striker could only direct his shot beyond of Mike Maignan’s goal.
Maignan’s opposite number had to make an incredible save to save Calabria from scoring his first goal of the season.
Following Sommer’s stunning save, Inter launched a swift counterattack, allowing Henrikh Mkhitaryan to sting Maignan’s palms.
Inter overcome to win the Italian Cup
The Nerazzurri may have squandered an opportunity to double their lead before halftime, but they needed just four second-half minutes to defeat Maignan for the second time.
Thuram drove inside from the left wing, finding the bottom corner with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.
Leao attempted to swiftly cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, Sommer dove to save his strong shot.
The game appeared to be coming to an end until Tomori nodded home after Sommer had deflected Matteo Gabbia’s header onto the post.
Noah Okafor nearly equalized as they gained momentum, but his pushed shot missed the net.
The tensions eventually boiled over in stoppage time, when Hernandez and Dumfries were sent off for their involvement in a scuffle, while Calabria saw red for punching Davide Frattesi.
Following a tense finish, referee Andrea Colombo blew the final whistle, marking the end of Inter’s successful title bid.
While Inter will celebrate their title victory over their rivals, Milan manager Stefano Pioli will face more criticism after supervising a Europa League exit and a derby defeat in the previous two games.
