AC Milan have closed the gap on the top five in Serie A courtesy of a comprehensive 3-0 victory over local rivals Inter Milan at the San Siro this evening.
A quickfire second-half brace from the hosts shortly after Inter had missed a penalty ensured that they would claim bragging rights from the Milan derby, in addition to condemning their fierce rivals to a fourth consecutive match without a win.
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It was Inter who made the brighter start and were the first to threaten, with Eder almost making a dream start to life at the club when a cross arrived to him inside the box, but he got his header all wrong and could only send it back out wide.
Teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was called into action shortly afterwards as the visitors continued to control proceedings, keeping out a powerful strike from Marcelo Brozovic.
However, it was AC Milan who broke the deadlock with just under 10 minutes remaining of the first half as Alex rose highest in the area to nod Keisuke Honda's cross past Samir Handanovic.
The match struggled to live up to its reputation in terms of quality, but the second half provided no shortage of drama, albeit mostly at the expense of Roberto Mancini's ailing Inter side.
The Nerazzurri were handed a glorious chance to level things up with 20 minutes remaining when Alex went from hero to zero by conceding a penalty for a foul on Mauro Icardi.
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However, Icardi then spared the Milan goalscorer's blushes by striking his spot kick against the post, and the hosts took immediate advantage when they went up the other end and doubled their lead moments later.
M'Baye Niang was the creator as he whipped a fine cross into the middle that Carlos Bacca steered past the keeper having got in front of Miranda for his fifth goal in his last seven Serie A appearances.
Things went from bad to worse for Inter as Milan made it two goals in the space of four minutes to pile more misery on their fierce rivals, this time Niang getting his own name on the scoresheet to put the game to bed.
Sinisa Mihajlovic's side almost made it four during a rampant spell, but this time Bacca could only flick his effort narrowly wide as things threatened to get embarrassing for Inter.
They were ultimately able to limit the damage to three goals as AC extended their unbeaten streak to six games in all competitions, taking them to within two points of fifth-placed Roma. Inter meanwhile, lose 3-0 for the second consecutive game and miss the chance to move back into the Champions League places.
Barney Corkhill
