Diego Moreira was everywhere at San Siro on Saturday night, contributing a goal and two assists as AC Milan dismantled Inter 3-1 in the Derby della Madonnina. Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in the 4th minute, Adrien Rabiot doubled the lead six minutes later, and although Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Inter at the 22nd minute, Moreira’s finish just before half-time put the game out of reach. The scoreline was settled by the break, and Milan’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan handled everything Inter threw at them in the second half.
Key Moments
- 4′, Pulisic opens the scoring, assisted by Diego Moreira. Milan are in front almost immediately at San Siro.
- 10′, Rabiot doubles the lead, again assisted by Diego Moreira. Two goals in ten minutes and Inter are rocking.
- 22′, Bastoni gives Inter hope, pulling a goal back with no assist recorded. The Nerazzurri have a foothold.
- 43′, Diego Moreira adds his own name to the scoresheet just before the break, restoring Milan’s two-goal cushion and ending the contest as a contest.
- 75′, A VAR review cancels a penalty for Inter after Mkhitaryan had been involved. The chance to make it 3-2 disappears.
Tactical Breakdown
On paper, the stats favored Inter heavily. Cristian Chivu’s side finished with 57% possession, 19 total shots compared to Milan’s 7, and an xG of 1.84 against Milan’s 0.74. None of it mattered. Ruben Amorim set his team up in a 3-4-2-1 that absorbed pressure efficiently and punished Inter on the counter with clinical precision. Milan’s four shots on goal produced three, while Inter’s seven on-target efforts yielded only one, largely because Maignan was outstanding between the posts.
The match was effectively settled before half-time, which made Inter’s second-half changes reactive rather than game-changing. Hakan Calhanoğlu and Andy Diouf came off at the 72nd minute for Piotr Zielinski and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and three more substitutions followed in the 81st and 82nd minutes, but the deficit was already too steep. A cancelled penalty at the 75th minute summed up Inter’s evening: the few moments that might have changed the dynamic were taken away.
Inter’s weakness was in the opening quarter-hour, when the hosts pressed with intensity and their shape held. The two goals in the first ten minutes forced Inter to chase the game from a position they had never anticipated, and the midfield pair of Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoğlu never found a foothold against Milan’s compact low block. Carlos Augusto, yellow-carded in the 90th minute, and Denzel Spence offered little going forward down the flanks.
Player Ratings
Match Context
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Standings
Head To Head
Verdict
The result moves AC Milan to 21 points, four behind Inter, who drop to second on 25 points alongside Lazio, though Lazio have played one fewer game. For Milan, the win steadies a season that had shown some inconsistency, and it demonstrates that Ruben Amorim’s system can hurt even the best sides in the division on a night when Diego Moreira is in this kind of form.
AC Milan
Inter
Christian Pulišić
Diego Moreira