Icardi grabs late winner: Milano is Nerazzurro!

MILAN - Milano is Nerazzurro… Just. An injury-time winner from Mauro Icardi sealed #DerbyMilano success on Sunday, as the Argentine’s 104th Serie A strike proved decisive. This win now leaves Luciano Spalletti’s side on 19 points and third in the league standings.

The match began with the Rossoneri on the front foot, with Suso and then Calhanoglu both trying their luck from distance. Icardi then found the back of the net in the 11th minute, however, the goal was ruled out for offside. Clearly boosted, Inter then clicked into gear and had another a chance from Politano two minutes later as he earned his side a corner. The 22nd minute then saw Perisic force Donnarumma into a diving save thanks to a header.

Nainggolan was forced off the pitch in the 30th minute due to a problem with his calf, with Spalletti duly sending on Borja Valero as his replacement.

The Nerazzurri then went incredibly close in the 33rd minute, as an effort from De Vrij bounced back off the post before Donnarumma then kept out Vecino’s rebound. As the half-time whistle approached, Icardi was just inches away from latching onto a fine cross from Vrsaljko, while moments later Politano then shot over from a good position. The 42nd minute saw a collective gasp of breath within the Meazza as Musacchio squeezed the ball past Handanovic at the back post, however, the goal was correctly disallowed for offside. There was one final effort before the interval, as Vecino just missed the target with a first-time strike. The referee soon blew his whistle and the teams went into the break all square.

Inter continued to take the game to Milan after the restart, with the Rossoneri content to sit back and try to hit the Nerazzurri on the counter-attack. Both Vecino and then Borja Valero had efforts in the 53rd minute but neither could force the ball home. Just five minutes later, Perisic found Politano at the far post, but the Inter man’s effort on the volley was off-target. Politano was again involved in the action in the 62nd minute as his ball into the area was met by Vecino, but the Uruguayan’s header went over. Spalletti turned to his bench with just 20 minutes to go and brought Keita on for Perisic. The Senegalese player tried to make his mark on the game in the 78th minute as he played the ball to Vecino in the area, but the latter’s cross-come-shot was well defended by Milan. The Rossoneri had their first real chance of the second half in the 80th minute, with Handanovic getting down well to save Suso’s effort after Rodriguez had played the ball to him. Seven minutes later, a cross by Milan’s full-back had to be pushed away by Handanovic. Just as it seemed that the match was heading for a draw, Mauro Icardi, like always, stepped up to win it for the Nerazzurri: the captain managed to get on the end of Vecino's fantastic cross to head home in front of Donnarumma and score his fifth goal against the Rossoneri.

The referee then blew the final whistle, with Inter now having won five Serie A games in a row and seven in all competitions. The #DerbyMilano once again belongs to Inter.

Now we can celebrate, although our focus will quickly turn to our next match: on Wednesday 24 October we travel to Barcelona.

Forever and always, #ForzaInter!

INTER 1-0 MILANGoalscorers: 92' Icardi (I)

INTER: 1 Handanovic; 2 Vrsaljko, 6 De Vrij, 37 Skriniar, 18 Asamoah; 8 Vecino, 77 Brozovic; 16 Politano (83' 87 Candreva), 14 Nainggolan (30' 20 Borja Valero), 44 Perisic (70'11 Keita); 9 IcardiSubstitutes: 27 Padelli, 5 Gagliardini, 10 Lautaro, 13 Ranocchia, 15 Joao Mario, 23 Miranda, 29 Dalbert, 33 D'AmbrosioCoach: Luciano Spalletti

MILAN: 99 G. Donnarumma; 2 Calabria (91' 20 Abate), 22 Musacchio, 13 Romagnoli, 68 Rodriguez; 79 Kessie (84' 14 Bakayoko), 21 Biglia, 5 Bonaventura; 8 Suso, 9 Higuain, 10 Calhanoglu (74' 63 Cutrone)Substitutes: 25 Reina, 90 A. Donnarumma, 4 Mauri, 7 Castillejo, 11 Borini, 16 Bertolacci, 17 Zapata, 33 Caldara, 93 LaxaltCoach: Gennaro Gattuso

Bookings: Biglia (M), Calhanoglu (M), Calabria (M), Suso (M), Politano (I), Bakayoko (M)

Added time: 4' + 3'

Referee: GuidaAssistants: Meli, PasseriFourth official: MarescaVAR operators: Irrati, Giallatini