ROME, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- AC Milan claimed their fourth consecutive Serie A victory as they defeated city rivals Inter Milan 2-1 in Saturday's Derby della Madonnina thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brace.

Due to positive COVID-19 tests, Inter had to do without the likes of Milan Skriniar and Radja Nainggolan, while Milan's veteran Ibrahimovic returned to action after his recovery from the virus.

Milan broke the deadlock in the 13th minute as Ibrahimovic tapped home the rebound after his penalty was saved by Samir Handanovic.

The Rossoneri doubled their lead three minutes later when Rafael Leao whipped in a cross from the left for Ibrahimovic to tap in at the back post.

Inter pulled a goal back in the 28th minute when Ivan Perisic assisted for Romelu Lukaku to turn in from close range.

The Nerazzurri were awarded a penalty in the 74th minute, only for the referee to overturn the decision as Lukaku was offside in the build-up.

Milan's first derby win since January 2016 sends them top of the table with 12 points, while Inter rank sixth with seven points.

Elsewhere, Juventus were without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo after his positive COVID-19 test, and the champions were held 1-1 by newly-promoted Crotone.

Summer signings Federico Chiesa and Alvaro Morata combined in the 21st minute to cancel out Simeon Nwankwo's penalty, though Chiesa was later sent off after a bad tackle in the second half.

Morata should have been the hero for Juve but his goal in the 75th minute was ruled out for offside.

In another highly anticipated fixture, Napoli crushed Atalanta 4-1. Last season's Coppa Italia winners were up by four goals before the break with Hirving Lozano scoring a brace. La Dea's only goal of the game came in the 68th minute from Sam Lammers.

Also on Saturday, Sampdoria enjoyed a 3-0 home victory over Lazio. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)