Mauro Icardi on Sunday scored a hat-trick as Inter kept pace with leaders SSC Napoli with a 3-2 defeat of city rivals AC Milan in a fiery Serie A derby.
Inter skipper Icardi sealed victory from the penalty spot in the final minute in front of 80,000 spectators at the San Siro to complete his hat-trick after also scoring on 28 and 63 minutes.
Spanish forward Suso (36) and Giacomo Bonaventura (81) had twice put AC Milan back on level terms in the “Chinese” derby between two clubs fueled by multimillion-dollar investments by their Asian owners.
Photo: AFP
With Juventus losing SS Lazio on Saturday, Luciano Spalletti’s Inter are now alone in second place, within two points of Napoli, who they face at the weekend.
“Scoring three goals in a derby is something special,” Icardi said. “The important thing is that Inter won. It’s too early to talk about a scudetto challenge. We are doing things the right way from preseason and now we have to think about the next match against a great opponent like Napoli. It’s a special match for me, because they are the leaders and play the best football in Europe.”
AC Milan dropped to 10th place after their fourth defeat piled the pressure on coach Vincenzo Montella.
“Looking at the table right now, everything might seem out of reach, but the season is very long and we can make up ground,” Montella said. “This squad has quality, despite what some might say, and I thought even a draw would have been hard on us today considering all the chances created. I think a top-four finish is absolutely possible.”
In a tense first half in the Derby della Madonnina, the first chance came after quarter of an hour when Antonio Candreva hit the crossbar.
Both Suso and a Joao Miranda header went wide, but Inter took the lead with Icardi picking up a Candreva cross on 28 minutes.
Patrick Cutrone came on after the break and lifted Milan, who got back into the game thanks to a beautiful curling Suso effort, but Icardi restored Inter’s advantage from an Ivan Perisic cross, before Bonaventura slid in to make it 2-2 with Samir Handanovic unable to clear.
Ricardo Rodriguez brought down Danilo D’Ambrosio and 24-year-old Icardi converted to earn the praise of Spalletti.
“He [Icardi] has strength, dynamism, technique. He is an all-around player, who for his age knows how to shoulder responsibility,” the Inter coach said.
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