Inter Milan came into Saturday night top of Serie A and one of only three unbeaten sides left in the division. They were two goals down before the clock reached ten minutes, three down by half-time, and by the end of the evening they were second and behind Lazio on goal difference. AC Milan won the derby 3-1, and the Belgian on the left had a hand in all of it.
Ten minutes that settled it
Christian Pulisic scored inside four minutes, climbing unmarked to head in Diego Moreira's cross. It was the American's fourth goal in Milan derbies. Six minutes after that, Moreira took a corner short instead of swinging it in, found Adrien Rabiot standing on his own, and the Frenchman clipped a first-time shot that kissed the inside of the far post on its way in. Kaka was watching from the stands and gestured that he wanted the recipe.
Inter did respond. Alessandro Bastoni headed in from a corner on the back of Manuel Akanji's flick about 12 minutes later, and from there the visitors spent most of the first half camped in Milan's half. What they could not do was beat Mike Maignan. The Milan goalkeeper denied Djed Spence, the former Tottenham full-back making his full Serie A debut, then Hakan Calhanoglu, then Andy Diouf, then Petar Sucic, all before the interval.
Moreira takes the night for himself
Two minutes before half-time the former Chelsea wing-back decided he had set up enough of them. Moreira stood over a direct free-kick and buried it, and a 3-1 lead at the break in a derby of that intensity is close to decisive. He finished the night with the highest player rating of anyone on the pitch.
Inter never found a way back. They thought they had a penalty late on, only for the award to be reversed after a video review, and that was about as close as the comeback came.
What it does to the table
Inter, Lazio and Roma all started the weekend without a defeat to their names. Inter's record went on Saturday, and with it the top spot. Milan climbed to fourth, above Como, who had not played at that point. For a club that spent last season being told what it was no longer capable of, taking the derby in the first ten minutes is a useful way to argue back.
Match facts: AC Milan 3-1 Inter Milan, Serie A, Saturday 31 October 2026. Pulisic 4', Rabiot 10', Moreira 43'; Bastoni on 22 minutes for Inter. Moreira assisted both of the first two goals and scored the third. Inter drop to second on goal difference behind Lazio; Milan move up to fourth.
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