Milan maintained their lead at the top of Serie A with a narrow 1-0 win over neighbours Inter, for whom the defeat was their first of the season.
Milan stayed joint top of Serie A on 57 points with Juventus, who beat Siena 3-0, while Inter, previously unbeaten in 38 league and cup games, are now 14 points behind the leaders and virtually out of the title race.
There was little to choose between the two teams until Brazilian Kaka broke the deadlock on 74 minutes to give Carlo Ancelotti’s side victory.
“Finally after so much bad luck with hitting the post and other situations I got an opportunist’s goal,” Kaka told Italy’s Sky Sport television.
“We are having some luck at the moment – at Manchester and here we won it in the final minutes. That is a good sign,” said the Brazilian, referring to the 1-0 Champions League win over Manchester United on Wednesday.
I think it has been a balanced match, played mainly in the midfield,” observed Ancelotti.
Ancelotti meanwhile, was was just relieved to have seecured the points.
“We tried to play a different type of game but Inter played well and didn’t allow us to control the match as we wanted,” said the Milan coach.
“What matters is that we are at the top of the league standings.
“The title race with Juventus will be a good struggle until the end of the season.”
Inter’s defeat was their first in Serie A this season and ended a 40-match unbeaten run in the league.
Nerazzurri coach Roberto Mancini was not impressed by Milan’s performance but admitted that his team did not make the most of their chances.
“Milan did not play that great, whilst we performed well but did not capitalise on our chances,” noted Mancini.
“This is football and I do not believe my team needs to be reproached.
“These derby matches are usually solved by a few incidents – Milan were a bit lucky.”
