Zlatan Ibrahimovic ignored the cacophony of boos to give AC Milan a deserved 1-0 win over his troubled former side Inter and send the Rossoneri back to the top of Serie A to the horror of their city rivals.
The chances of Inter winning an unprecedented sixth successive scudetto were greatly reduced by Ibrahimovic’s fifth-minute penalty after the Swede was recklessly fouled by Inter’s ageing defender Marco Materazzi.
Just 12 games into the season, Milan look favorites to win their first title since 2004, given their six-point advantage over fifth-placed Inter and the continuing brittle form of the treble winners.
PHOTO: AFP
Coach Massimiliano Allegri triumphed in his first derby, despite having fullback Ignazio Abate sent off with half an hour left and the pressure intensified on his Inter counterpart Rafael Benitez, also overseeing his first all-city clash.
“We put in great work and great sacrifice in the second half with a man down, we played with huge heart,” said Ibrahimovic, who accidentally injured Materazzi in a second-half clash. “There are lots of games to go and there is a bit of an advantage, but we’ll play each game as it comes.”
The defeat in what counted as an Inter home game in the shared San Siro, packed with 80,000 noisy fans, was the champions’ first home league loss in over two and a half years.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Milan, who substituted the pumped-up Gennaro Gattuso at the break to avoid a dismissal, but left Ronaldinho on the bench, had the better chances, with Ibrahimovic spectacularly volleying over to remind Inter fans of the skill he used to wow them with.
Injury-hit Inter started with a new 4-3-1-2 formation, but they failed to gel and Benitez was soon regretting the inclusion of 37-year-old Materazzi for his first league appearance this season.
Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt watched on in the stands, but Inter lacked pace and urgency, despite decent pressure in the latter stages.
A controversial Mauro Zarate goal helped second-placed SS Lazio, a point behind Milan, recover from two straight defeats with a 2-0 victory over Napoli.
Argentine Zarate appeared to use an arm when he grabbed the opener on 15 minutes, before fellow striker Sergio Floccari doubled the lead in the second half from a Zarate assist.
Third-placed Napoli had seen the game as a key test for their title credentials, but failed to impose themselves.
Sampdoria drew 0-0 with Chievo to slip to 10th after again missing the influence of forward Antonio Cassano, dropped by the club for swearing at the president and facing an arbitration hearing soon on his future at the Genoa-based side.
Samp have scored once in five games since his suspension.
Argentina playmaker Javier Pastore increased his burgeoning worth with three goals in seventh-placed Palermo’s 3-1 win over Catania in the Sicilian derby.
Early season strugglers Udinese continued their surge up the table and are level with Palermo and Genoa, who won 1-0 at Cagliari, after last season’s top scorer in Serie A Antonio Di Natale bagged a first-half hat-trick in a 4-0 home romp over Lecce.
Bari stayed bottom after a 1-0 home loss to improving Parma, while Bologna overcame promoted Brescia 1-0.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
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