Inter win 20th Serie A title

Internazionale have been crowned champions of Italy for a 20th time in historic fashion by defeating Derby della Madonnina rivals AC Milan by two goals to one at San Siro.

LINEUPS

MILAN XI: Maignan; Calabria*, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernandez; Reijnders, Adli; Musah, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic; Rafael Leao

MILAN SUBS: Sportiello, Nava, Caldara, Florenzi, Bennacer, Terracciano, Chukwueze, Okafor, Jovic, Giroud

INTER XI: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro Martinez*

INTER SUBS: Di Gennaro, Audero, De Vrij, Bisseck, Carlos Augusto, Dumfries, Juan Cuadrado, Klaassen, Frattesi, Sensi, Asllani, Buchanan, Arnautovic, Alexis Sanchez

Action: As expected, with the title on the line, Inter started the game on the front foot and it didn’t take long for them to get themselves ahead inside 20 minutes.

From a corner, France international defender Benjamin Pavard did well to flick on and that set up Francesco Acerbi to head home beyond Mike Maignan in the Milan net.

Inter continued to push on with a glorious opportunity for Lautaro Martinez to almost put the game to bed when Federico Dimarco’s cross eventually reached him inside the six-yard box but he ballooned over the bar.

Milan very much improved, though, as the first-half went on with Rafael Leao having a couple of close efforts; one drawing a strong save from Yann Sommer. 

However, as Milan improved, Inter counter-attacked well and had two excellent chances once again from Lautaro Martinez and then one from his strike partner Marcus Thuram but both were missed.

It didn’t take long for Inter and indeed Thuram to eventually double their lead, though, when the Frenchman drilled low and hard from the edge of the box past Maignan.

Inter opted to try and soak up the pressure for the rest of the match and very nearly gave away their two-goal lead, which would have delayed title celebrations but denied them the opportunity to win the league against their ground sharing rivals.

As Milan pushed on, the Rossoneri got themselves a goal back via Fikayo Tomori, who eventually bundled home after some sustained Milan pressure. 

With Milan really kicking on in a desperate bid to deny Inter almost historic ‘bragging rights’, tempers flared a lot in stoppage-time with one scuffle resulting both Theo Hernandez and Denzel Dumfries being sent off. Then, just before the full-time whistle, another red card was shown to Davide Calabria as he quite clearly intentionally elbowed Davide Frattesi in the face in the goalmouth before a Milan corner which was cleared comfortably by Inter.

Inter win their 6th Milan derby in a row to become champions of Italy! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/huIbWAnJEW

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 22, 2024

The big picture: Inter, coached by Simone Inzaghi, have enjoyed a magnificent Serie A campaign. With 79 scored, 18 conceded, 27 victories and just one loss; Inter will now have their second star on the badge as a result of their 20th Scudetto. AC Milan have been much-improved since the turn of the year and need only a couple of points to guarantee themselves a top five finish which will be enough for UEFA Champions League qualification this season in Italy.

Man of the match: Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Thrusting Inter forward in the first-half and then a real, brutal shift at the other end of the pitch in the second made Mkhitaryan the standout.

EVENTS

Kick-off

’18 | GOAL: Acerbi (0-1)

Half-time

’49 | GOAL: Thuram (0-2)

’84 | GOAL: Tomori (1-2)

’90 | RED CARD: Hernandez

’90 | RED CARD: Dumfries

’90 | RED CARD: Calabria

Full-time