Inter’s last derby win came in April 2024, and their six-match winless H2H run looked set to extend three minutes in when Yann Sommer gave the ball away cheaply to Christian Pulisic, who squared to Luka Modric, but the Croatian’s 20-yard strike went a whisker wide.
That would turn out to be the Rossoneri’s only effort of the first 30 minutes, but despite shoring things up at the back, Inter’s attacking output consisted of just two Federico Dimarco shots; one of which was blocked and the other flew over the bar.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan decided to take matters into his own hands when he picked up the ball on halfway and powered through the heart of the Milan defence and into the box, only to place his shot too close to Mike Maignan.
That chance for Inter sparked Massimiliano Allegri’s side into life, and a minute later they were in front when Youssouf Fofana slotted the ball through to Pervis Estupinan, who powered his strike high into the roof of Sommer’s net.
The final minutes before the break saw the hosts pushing for a second, as Alexis Saelemaekers and Adrien Rabiot had chances, before Nicolo Barella curled a shot wide at the other end.
Only two of Inter’s previous eight matches saw both teams score, but despite that bad omen, the Nerazzurri came out battling after the break, as Piotr Zielinski forced Maignan into a near-post stop, before a deep cross found Mkhitaryan, who squared across the area to Dimarco, but he blazed over from 10 yards out.
Milan, meanwhile, were still looking for a killer second, turning to Rafael Leao, who pulled an effort across goal, and Fofana, whose fierce shot was spilt by Sommer before the goalkeeper recovered.
A driving run on the hour mark from Denzel Dumfries tied the Milan defence in knots but lacked the finish to match, and that would be the final effort on goal, as injuries to Rabiot and Alessandro Bastoni stemmed the flow of the contest.
Cristian Chivu’s side pushed for a late equaliser, but failed to carve out a real chance and saw a pair of penalty claims waved away.
The gap between the top two is down to seven points with 10 games to play after just a sixth win in 11 for Milan, as Inter saw their eight-match winning run in Serie A end, while they have now won just two of their last six in all competitions.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pervis Estupinan (AC Milan)