A derby decided in the first half
Milan beat Inter 3-1 in the Derby della Madonnina at San Siro on Saturday 31 October 2026, and the match was effectively settled early. [1] reports that Christian Pulisic headed Milan in front after 3 minutes 45 seconds from a Diego Moreira cross. Adrien Rabiot added a second around the 11th minute, finishing a corner routine first time, again with Moreira providing the assist.
Moreira then scored a free kick of his own. [2] confirms that Pulisic, Rabiot and Moreira scored all three of Milan’s goals before the break. Inter’s reply came from a Bastoni header, according to [3]. The result ended Inter’s unbeaten start to the Serie A season, and Moreira was named Man of the Match after a free kick and two assists, as [4] notes. Luka Modrić called it possibly Milan’s best performance of the season.
Team news: returns and absences
Milan went into the derby with a mixed squad picture. Pre-match reports listed Mario Gila, Rabiot and Moreira as back from injury. Coach Rúben Amorim had said after group training that all three were ready to rejoin the team, with starts to be decided on the morning of the match, according to [5]. Moreira had missed the previous two league games with hamstring fatigue.
The absentee list remained long. Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Samuel Chukwueze were all still out, as [6] reports. Tomori’s case is the most concrete. He went off at half-time against Bologna with a medial flexor muscle injury in his right thigh and is expected to be out for about a month. [7] says that rules him out of the derby, the Ferencvaros and Genoa games, and probably Frosinone, Olympiacos and Cagliari too. The derby showed that the returning trio can carry the attack, but the defensive depth is thin.
Bouncing back from Bologna
The derby win followed a poor midweek. Milan lost 4-2 at home to Bologna, their first Serie A defeat of the season and the first league loss under Amorim. [8] reports that owner Gerry Cardinale said he would be devastated if Milan lost the derby, while backing his coach. Amorim also noted that Milan had lost three games in all competitions this season, including earlier Europa League defeats to Benfica and Bournemouth.
There was good news off the pitch as well. Milan confirmed that Pulisic has extended his contract until 30 June 2031, as [9] reports. He had two goals and an assist from six Serie A appearances before scoring against Inter. Moreira, meanwhile, had three goals and one assist in seven appearances across all competitions before the derby, which makes the free kick his latest contribution in a growing run of influence from the winger.
What it means
The table shows the effect of the win. Milan are fourth in Serie A on 21 points from 10 games (W6 D3 L1, goals 21 for and 12 against). Before the derby they were fifth on 18 points, seven behind Inter and Lazio, per [8]. Three points in the biggest game of the autumn have eased the pressure that followed the Bologna loss.
Form is mixed but pointing the right way. Milan’s last five league results, newest first, read W, L, W, W, D: 3-1 against Inter, 2-4 against Bologna, 2-0 at Udinese, 3-2 against Atalanta and 1-1 at Sassuolo. That is three wins in the last five, with the only defeat coming in a game where they conceded four.
The next fixture is Genoa v Milan on 8 November, and the site’s forecast for it locks 24 hours before kick-off. The question is whether Milan can keep the derby’s fast start going without Tomori, who is expected to miss the trip. Gila, Rabiot and Moreira are available again, and Pulisic is settled on a long contract. Whether they can repeat a sharp opening away from San Siro, with the back line short of options, is what the Genoa game asks of them.
Sources
- Football Italia: Video: Milan surge into 2-0 lead over Inter within first 10 minutes football-italia.net ↩
- BBC Sport: AC Milan score three first-half goals to seal derby victory over Inter bbc.co.uk ↩
- Football Italia: Modric: ‘Maybe Milan’s best game of the season, we deserved the victory’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Moreira on best game ‘so far’ for Milan, while Pulisic is lucky charm against Inter football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Amorim: Milan Derby more similar to Portugal than England; Rabiot, Gila and Moreira ‘ready’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Cardinale: ‘Bring Milan back to the top, I’m sticking with Amorim’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Milan lose Tomori for one month after injury in 4-2 Bologna defeat football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Cardinale: ‘I’ll be devastated if Milan don’t win the derby, Amorim was a great choice’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Official: Pulisic signs new long-term Milan contract extension football-italia.net ↩
