Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij's own goal canceled out Hakan Calhanoglu's opener from the penalty spot while Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw by Hellas Verona.
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AC Milan and Inter Milan played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the Milan derby at San Siro on Sunday. Inter Milan would have been the more disappointed team after the match as they were the better team on the night and could have secured the three points. Former Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu gave the visitors the lead early in the first half from the penalty spot. Meanwhile, a few minutes later, Milan leveled thanks to Stefan de Vrij’s own goal. Inter had the opportunity to restore the lead from the penalty spot but Lautaro Martinez was denied by Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Inter started the match positively and took the lead within 11 minutes of kick-off. Franck Kessie who intercepted a pass from Eden Dzeko was pressured by Dzeko and Calhanoglu and then turned into trouble as he tangled with Calhanoglu inside the box, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Although it wasn’t clear who had bundled into who, the referee stuck to his decision. Calhanoglu stepped up and blasted the ball straight through the centre and wildly celebrated against his old club.
Milan equalized within six minutes of the goal. Sandro Tonali’s in-swinging free-kick from the left flank was headed towards his own goal by de Vrij. The central defender was behind Fikayo Tomori and in an attempt to clear the ball nodded into his own net.
Lautaro Martinez played a brilliant through ball to release Matteo Darmian on goal, left-back Fode Ballo-Toure in a desperate attempt to stop Darmian lunged into him and the referee had no doubt this time as he awarded a penalty for the hosts. Martinez, the usual spot-kick taker for Inter stepped up, but Tatarusanu made a superb save diving low to the right bottom corner.
Inter continued attacking and were able to open up the Milan defence. Nicolo Barella’s attempt from Alessandro Bastoni cut back was cleared off the line by Ballo-Toure. Martinez was looking dangerous as his shot from inside the box went wide. After the break, the Argentine’s shot from outside the box deflected off Tomori and went just over the crossbar.
Inter kept pushing for the winner as Calhanoglu’s volley from Ivan Perisic’s cross flashed all the way across the face of goal. Arturo Vidal had two consecutive attempts charged down by Pierre Kalulu.
Meanwhile at the other end, Zlatan Ibrahimovic tested Samir Handanovic with a powerful low free-kick. Milan pushed the home side to the back foot for the first time in the match as Alexis Saelemaekers shot from outside the area hit the base of the post and the rebound fell to Kessie in front of goal, who missed the target.
“For us the glass is half empty,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said.
“We missed so many chances and a penalty, and we deserved more. But we faced a great team that is top because it deserves to be. And we’re continuing to improve … Milan and Napoli are going at an incredible rate but there are many games left and there’s time and space.”
“The glass is half full,” Milan boss Stefano Pioli said. “It’s clear that you always play to win, especially when it’s a derby match.
“We suffered a bit in the first 20 minutes of the second half but then we got back on top again. On the whole, I’m happy because we played well against very strong opponents.”
Elsewhere, Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw by Hellas Verona at Stadio San Paolo. The visitors took an early lead in the 13th minute through Giovanni Simeone. The 26-year-old Argentine striker got on the end of Antonin Barak’s pull back to give a dream start to Verona.
However, Napoli equalized within five minutes of the goal through Giovanni Di Lorenzo. The Italian playmaker squirmed his finish between the near post and goalkeeper to level the score.
Meanwhile Verona ended the match with nine men as substitutes Daniel Bessa and Nikola Kalinic got double yellow cards.
Napoli are still on top of the points table with 32 points from 12 games, while second placed Milan also have 32 points. Meanwhile Inter Milan are third with 25 points while Verona occupy the tenth spot with 16 points.
