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Romelu Lukaku at the top of a cluster of players
Photo:
Antonio Calanni / dpa
Inter won the Milan derby in Serie A and thus expanded their lead in the standings to four points.
In the 3-0 (1-0) win at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Lautaro Martinez scored two goals for the guests (5th and 57th minutes of the game), Romelu Lukaku made the final score (66th).
The AC remain second in the table after the defeat.
The Milan derby is rarely poor in emotion.
In the run-up to the 174th edition of Serie A, however, the basis for a particularly heated duel was laid.
In the quarter-final win in Inter's Coppa Italia, there was a long battle of words between the respective star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimović and Romelu Lukaku.
Both saw a yellow card, Ibrahimović, who had put AC in the lead, was later thrown off the field with a yellow-red, Inter won with a goal in stoppage time.
And even on the day of the derby, the game caused discussions before the kick-off.
Thousands of fans had met in front of the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.
AC supporters waited for the team bus before kick-off.
Despite the applicable corona and distance rules, the fans stood tightly together and started loud chants.
At the entrance of the Rossoneri bus some Bengali fires and smoke bombs set off.
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Before the game, some AC supporters caused unsightly pictures in front of the stadium: the distances were not kept, fireworks were burned
Photo: Massimo Alberico / imago images / Independent Photo Agency Int.
The game was then less heated.
Inter were the better team in the first and last half an hour, Milan could not use them in the 30 minutes in which they had the better chances.
The guests took an early lead after a great individual performance by Lukaku.
The striker took advantage of his speed on the right and failed with his cross at Simon Kjaer, but the second attempt resulted in a precise cross on Martinez, who hit his head from close range (5th).
Lukaku narrowly missed the 2-0 (27th).
Little by little, the AC found their way into the game, Theo's attempt from almost ten meters went just inches from the post (33rd).
Three big chances for AC, goal for Inter
After the break, Inter's goalkeeper Samir Handanovic made his grand entrance: Within just under three minutes, the Slovenian thwarted three major chances.
First Handanovic reacted very strongly twice after Ibrahimović's headers (47th), then he defused a hard shot by Sandro Tonali (49th).
In the following minutes AC constricted the opponent on the defensive.
However, since every attack went through Ibrahimović in the end, the guests managed to prevent further great opportunities.
In the middle of this best phase of the hosts it fell 2-0.
Christian Eriksen penetrated the penalty area very quickly, only to put down on Ivan Perisic.
He played the ball in the middle, where Martinez only had to push in from short distance (57th).
Lukaku then crowned his strong performance with a goal.
After a solo through the center, he hit the left corner from 16 meters to make it 3-0 (66th).
As a result, the guests controlled the game, let the ball and opponent run, but without making the last effort for another hit.
With the win, Inter extends its lead over its second-placed city rival in the Italian soccer league to four points.
The club has been waiting for its 19th championship title since 2010.
At that time, Inter had won the triple under José Mourinho, in the Champions League final there was a 2-0 against FC Bayern Munich.
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svs / dpa