FC Internazionale takes Milan derby and claims its 20th Scudetto in the process

FC Internazionale showed up at the Milan derby eager to win the 3 points it needed to win its 20th Serie A title, while AC Milan's goal was to postpone the celebrations.

The match began with prolonged ball possession by the Rossoneri who, however, never managed to get close to the goal defended by Yann Sommer.

In fact, despite the aforementioned ball management, the first shot of the game was attempted by Inter's Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez who, supported by Matteo Darmian, fired high.

Shortly afterwards there were two shots, one for each side and both inaccurate. Inter defender Benjamin Pavard pushed forward before taking aim, followed by an attempt by Milan's French fullback Theo Hernandez .

From this moment, Inter showed greater aggression and determination in their rapid and studied counterattacks.

In the 18th minute, a Neroazzuri corner kick found Francesco Acerbi, one of the most talked about players of recent weeks.

The corner was taken by Federico Dimarco and was pushed by Pavard towards the center of the penalty area where Acerbi found himself completely unmarked, a few steps away from Mike Maignan who could do nothing.

Yet again, AC Milan conceded off a dead ball, unable to find a remedy for this persistent shortcoming.

Subsequently, Martinez had an opportunity to double the lead, coming upon a low cross from Dimarco, but he mis-hit his attempt.

After a completely impalpable half-hour, Rafael Leao authored some special plays.

On the most important occasion, the talented Portuguese controlled the ball and flew into the central area, then fired a left-footer as soon as he entered the penalty area. Unfortunately, Sommer got down to block the shot.

Before the halftime whistle, Inter's Marcus Thuram hit the outside of the post after being served by Nicolò Barella. Milan came close behind captain Davide Calabria who forced Sommer to produce a good reflex save.

The first half ended at 0-1.

In the 49th minute, FC Internazionale found its second goal with a great effort by Thuram who tracked down a long ball before firing a shot that escaped the clutched of Mike Maignan.

This sudden goal dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Rossoneri who began to disunite, while also showing tactical disorder both in the offensive actions, devoid of real danger, and in the defensive retreats.

Coach Pioli tried to prompt a reaction by bringing in striker Olivier Giroud in place of Tijjani Reijnders. Shortly after, Ismael Bennacer, Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor also joined the fray.

These changes gave greater verve in the offensive area so much so that the Rossoneri created an important opportunity with Christian Pulisic but the American kicked it badly over the crossbar.

The Rossoneri continued to besiege the opposing defense forcing Inter's Simone Inzaghi to insert fresh resources.

AC Milan's insistence finally paid off in the 80th minute with a goal from English defender FIkayo Tomori following a corner kick.

Shortly afterwards AC Milan came close to equalizing. A Noah Okafor shot beat Sommer but was cleared off the goal line by Inter defenders.

The last minutes of the match were characterized by pure tension between players, so much so that three players were sent off: Hernandez and Calabria for the Rossoneri, and Denzel Dumfries for the Neroazzurri were red-carded.

After the match, the FC Internazionale players celebrated the victory of the Scudetto with their fans. On the other side, Milan – still nursing their wounds from the unexpected early exit from the UEFA Europa League at the hands of AS Roma – were forced to swallow a bitter derby defeat at home.