Inter are the sole Serie A leaders with a 100 per cent record after flattening Milan 5-1 in the Derby della Madonnina, including a Henrikh Mkhitaryan brace and Marcus Thuram stunner.
This was not just a local derby, but also a head-to-head battle of the top two, the only remaining teams with a perfect record after three rounds. Both made changes in defence, as Francesco Acerbi made his season debut, while Fikayo Tomori was suspended and Pierre Kalulu injured. Olivier Giroud shook off an ankle knock from international duty to start.
The Rossoneri lost four derbies in a row last season between Serie A, the Supercoppa Italiana and Champions League semi-finals, conceding seven goals and scoring none.
Inter broke the deadlock in the opening five minutes, as Marcus Thuram shrugged off Malick Thiaw down the right and pulled back from the by-line, Federico Dimarco’s deflected shot was redirected into the net by Henrikh Mkhitaryan from relatively close range. Milan complained about two potential fouls in the build-up, which VAR and the referee shrugged off.
Mkhitaryan threatened a second later, his glancing header just wide on a Dimarco cross from the left. Rafael Leao was caught offside on a smart Theo Hernandez free kick routine that had seen him test Yann Sommer.
Theo Hernandez went on an extraordinary run through several Inter defenders only to steer the finish inches wide as it flashed across the face of goal.
Just as Milan had a long period of possession, they were caught out by a classic counter-attack for 2-0. Denzel Dumfries initially over-hit the pass for Thuram after Lautaro Martinez started the move, but Thuram cut inside Thiaw and blasted the finish into the far top corner from a tricky angle, giving Mike Maignan no chance.
Milan did get back into the game when Giroud sent Rafael Leao down the left, he blazed past Matteo Darmian and the angled drive squirmed away from Yann Sommer in heavy rain. This was the first goal that Inter had conceded all season.
Carlos Augusto came off the bench and immediately stung Maignan’s gloves from distance, but it was a great team goal that restored Inter’s advantage.
Hakan Calhanoglu won it back in his own half and the cross-field pass launched Lautaro Martinez down the left, who laid it off for Mkhitaryan and a finish took a slight deflection off Thiaw to completely wrong-foot Maignan.
Lautaro Martinez got to the bouncing ball quicker than Theo Hernandez and was brought down for a penalty, which Calhanoglu converted with power down the middle.
It wasn’t over yet, because Inter added a fifth in stoppages. Mkhitaryan robbed Samuel Chukwueze to surge forward and his slide-rule pass released substitute Davide Frattesi to come sliding in with the finish. It was quite a week for Frattesi, who scored twice here for Italy against Ukraine.
Inter 5-1 Milan
Mkhitaryan 5, 69 (I), Thuram 39 (I), Leao 57 (M), Calhanoglu pen 79 (I), Frattesi 93 (I)
Player statistic
| Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Assist: Federico Dimarco) |
 |
5' | ||
| 24' |  |
Malick Thiaw | ||
| Marcus Thuram (Assist: Denzel Dumfries) |
|
38' |
| 57' | |
Rafael Leão (Assist: Olivier Giroud) | ||
| 61' | |
Theo Hernández | ||
| Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Assist: Lautaro Martínez) |
|
69' | ||
| Hakan Calhanoglu | |
72' | ||
| Hakan Calhanoglu |  |
79' | ||
| Davide Frattesi (Assist: Henrikh Mkhitaryan) |
|
90+3' | ||
| Davide Frattesi | |
90+4' |
Match statistic
