Inter steamroll past AC Milan and extend lead atop Serie A standings

Inter exacted revenge on AC Milan, taking the second Derby della Madonnina of the Serie A season in convincing fashion to extend their lead atop the Serie A standings thanks to a 3-0 result.

Lautaro Martinez netted twice while Romelu Lukaku added a power third in the second half to push the Nerazzurri four points clear of their city rivals. It’s no doubt a bitter blow for the Rossoneri as they’ve now lost back to back matches following their defeat to Spezia last week.

It was the first time since April 2011 that both teams found themselves at the top of the table, and it took just five minutes for the deadlock to be broken with the Nerazzurri striking first. Lukaku broke down the right hand side and looked for Lautaro in the box. After his initial pass was intercepted by Simon Kjaer, the Belgian eventually found the Argentine and he headed home to give the away side the lead.

Inter continued to press but Milan eventually found their feet, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic back heeling an effort on goal that Samir Handanovic had no problem dealing with after a mad scramble.

Lukaku should have made it 2-0 but he was inches away from tapping home an Ivan Perisic cross, while Kjaer got in the way of another Perisic pass for the Belgian.

Milan continued to grow into the match but Theo Hernandez couldn’t get any power behind his right-footed strike from close, while Gianluigi Donnarumma made an excellent one-handed stop on Perisic that saw Lautaro balloon the rebound over the bar.

The half ended with Milan Skriniar heading a Christian Eriksen free kick just over the bar, but it was Milan that came out of the gates flying after the restart.

The Rossoneri forced Handanovic into three incredible stops in quick succession, with the Slovenian somehow getting his hands on an Ibrahimovic header, another header from the Swede and then a Tonali shot from outside the area.

It proved crucial as after absorbing the pressure, Inter doubled their lead in the 57th minute. Against the run of play the Nerazzurri broke forward with Achraf Hakimi, who picked out Eriksen on the left. The Danish player laid it off for Perisic, and his pull back was tapped home by Lautaro from close range to the delight of the Inter bench.

The game was well and truly put away 10 minutes later by Lukaku. After the Belgian fired a chance minutes earlier at Donnarumma, he made no mistake soon after. Lukaku gathered the ball near midfield and surged forward, blasting hard and low past the Milan goalkeeper, leaving no doubt as to Inter’s dominance on the day.

Milan had no response from there, with Handanovic being tested by Ante Rebic in the closing stages, but it was too little too late as Inter celebrated a famous win that sees them extend their lead atop the Serie A standings.