12 March 2007, by Sean Gillen

Inter beat bitter rivals Milan to edge closer to title

Inter 2-1 Milan

Inter remain unbeaten in Serie A after they came from behind to defeat Milan at the San Siro, securing their first double over their city rivals in over twenty-five years.

There was an extra spice added to this derby, with former Inter hero Ronaldo making his first appearance in the fixture for the Rossoneri since his January switch from Real Madrid. Inter, who were playing as the home side, issued their fans with 30,000 whistles to great the Brazilian.

Milan were the first side to threaten with another former Inter player, Andrea Pirlo, flashing a free-kick wide before testing Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar with a rasping 20-metre effort.

As the game developed, Inter began to create the better chances, with the best of the opportunities falling to Hernan Crespo. The Argentine curled wide when well-placed in the area, and then flicked a header wide after a superb cross from Nicolas Burdisso.

Figo goes close

Luis Figo was recalled to the Nerazurri starting line-up after his substitutes’ role in Valencia on Tuesday, and the Portuguese went close soon after. Picking up possession on the left side, Figo drifted between Oddo and Gattuso and onto his right foot before firing across the face of goal and narrowly missing the far post.

With the teams appearing to be heading for the interval on level terms, Ronaldo stunned his old side by giving Milan the lead. The Brazilian received a pass 25 metres from goal and let fly with an unstoppable left-footed shot into the bottom corner of Julio Cesar’s goal.

Inter were on the front foot from the first whistle after the break. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had the first chance of the half, shooting straight at Dida from a tight angle, while Milan went close when Gattuso shot wide after being found by Ronaldo.

Super-sub

The game turned on a substitution, with Inter manager Roberto Mancini replacing the miss-firing Crespo with Julio Cruz. The striker nicknamed ‘The Gardener’ took just eight seconds to make an impact when Ibrahimovic beat Maldini on the right and delivered a low cross for the Argentine to score from close range.

Cruz went close again with a back-heeled effort, before setting up what would prove to be the winning goal for Ibrahimovic. Again the legendary Maldini would prove to be Milan’s weakness as Cruz caught the veteran in possession and cut the ball back for Ibrahimovic inside the area, and the Swede finished into the bottom corner.

Ibrahimovic had another effort saved by Dida as Inter comfortably held out for a hugely satisfying victory over their bitter rivals. After their Champions League elimination, Inter will see the result as the perfect boost ahead of their hopes of winning a Serie A and Coppa Italia double.

Inter:
Julio Cesar; Burdisso, Cordoba, Materazzi, Grosso (Maxwell 18); Zanetti, Dacourt (Samuel 46), Stankovic, Figo; Crespo (Cruz 54), Ibrahimovic
Yellow Cards: Samuel (71), Cordoba (86)

Milan:
Dida; Oddo (Cafu 66), Bonera, Maldini, Jankulovski; Gattuso (Gourcuff 79), Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf (Gilardino 68); Kakà; Ronaldo
Yellow Cards: Pirlo (72)

Goals:
[0-1] Ronaldo, 40
[1-1] Cruz, 54
[2-1] Ibrahimovic, 75