Inter clinch Serie A title after derby triumph over Milan

Inter Milan became the joint-earliest team to clinch the Serie A title after a 2-1 victory over bitter rivals AC Milan in an ill-tempered Milan derby.

Francesco Acerbi’s first-half header and a thunderous Marcus Thuram strike after the break fired Simone Inzaghi’s side to glory, rendering Fikayo Tomori’s late goal a mere consolation.

The Nerazzurri took control early on, with Acerbi nodding home from close range in the 18th minute after Benjamin Pavard’s flick-on. Despite Lautaro Martinez spurning a golden chance, Inter continued to dominate the first period, with Yann Sommer denying Rafael Leao at the other end.

Just four minutes into the second half, Thuram’s blistering solo effort doubled Inter’s advantage. The Frenchman showed impressive pace and power to burst past Tomori before lashing an unstoppable strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Tomori gave Milan brief hope by heading home from Christian Pulisic’s saved effort with 10 minutes remaining. However, late red cards for Theo Hernandez, Denzel Dumfries and Davide Calabria marred the occasion as Inter held firm to seal a 20th Scudetto in dramatic fashion.

The triumph extends the Nerazzurri’s unbeaten league run to 27 matches, while AC Milan suffer a sixth successive derby defeat ahead of their clash with Juventus on Saturday.