Serie A, Inter Milan 2-1 AC Milan

Inter fight back to win Milan derby

Inter Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner as Inter Milan bounced back from their disappointing exit from Europe in midweek with a narrow triumph over city rivals AC Milan on Sunday in the derby match.



Ibrahimovic struck with 15 minutes remaining to give the Serie A leaders a deserved victory in a thrilling encounter at a sold-out Giuseppe Meazza stadium. Substitute Julio Cruz had levelled the score shortly after the re-start to cancel out Ronaldo's first-half strike against his former club.




Inter Milan showed plenty of character after their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Valencia, to keep their unbeaten run in Serie A. Coach Roberto Mancini's decision to replace Crespo with Cruz proved a wise move by the coach, as the latter struck seconds after entering the game.



Crespo was first to test Dida with his central strike proving an easy catch for the AC Milan goalkeeper. The Rossoneri then pressed forward and Andrea Pirlo sent a warning to Inter with his curled free-kick going just wide off the near post. Mancini was forced to make his first substitution shortly after, with Maxwell replacing an injured Fabio Grosso. Midway through the first half, Pirlo's right-footed effort forced Julio Cesar to palm over the crossbar for a corner.



Marek Jankulovski had a lucky escape after his clearance inside his own area proved an assist for Crespo, who fired wide off the far post. On the half hour mark, Inter should have been awarded a penalty after Daniele Bonera brought down Ibrahimovic inside the area but the referee surprisingly booked the Nerazzurri striker for diving and played on.


Inter increased the tempo and looked more threatening from then on. The hosts twice had the opportunity to break the deadlock. Crespo's close-range header from Nicolas Burdisso's cross went just wide off the far post.



In the 38th minute, a fantastic play by Luis Figo saw the Portuguese get past two players before firing towards the far post but Crespo was unable to get the all-important touch. Just when Inter were playing at their best Milan struck.

Ronaldo got past Maxwell before firing a left-footed strike towards the far post with goalkeeper Julio Cesar unable to reach it.



Mancini made a half-time substitution with Walter Samuel replacing Olivier Dacourt. Inter picked up where they left off and should have equalised shorlty after the break, with Ibrahimovic's close-range strike forcing Dida to dive low to clear. Milan were quite happy to sit on their lead and wait to hit Inter in the counter attack.



They should have done just that on 53 minutes, with Gennaro Gattuso missing a great chance to double his team's lead, with his angled strike narrowly missing the far post. It proved costly for the Rossoneri, as Inter equalised seconds later.



A cross from the left by Ibrahimovic found Cruz inside the box whose first touch was sufficient to beat Dida. Cruz almost struck his second shortly after, with a classy back-heel touch going inches wide over the crossbar.

AC Milan attempted to react, with Pirlo's central free-kick proved an easy catch for Julio Cesar, but it was Inter who looked more deadly. A defensive mistake to fire past Dida and give his team a lead. The goal proved a hammer blow for the Rossoneri.



Coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to bring in Alberto Gilardino and Yoann Gourcuff failed to spark the Rossoneri as they conceded their first defeat of the year at the hands of their arch-rivals.



INTER Milan (2): 12 Julio César, 23 M Materazzi, 11 F Grosso (6 Maxwell), 4 J Zanetti, 2 I Cordoba, 16 N Burdisso, 5 D Stankovic, 7 L Figo, 15 O Dacourt (25 W Samuel), 8 Z Ibrahimovic and 18 H Crespo (9 J Cruz)


Subs: 21 S Solari, 6 Maxwell, 91 M Gonzalez, 20 A Recoba and 1 F Toldo

AC MILAN (1): 1 N Dida, 3 P Maldini, 25 D Bonera, 44 M Oddo (2 M Cafu), 18 M Jankulovski, 10 C Seedorf, 23 M Ambrosini, 22 R Kakà, 8 I Gattuso, 21 A Pirlo and 99 L Ronaldo

Subs: 20 Y Gourcuff, 11 A Gilardino, 17 D Simic, 7 R Oliveira, 32 C Brocchi, 16 Z Kalac

Serie A Inter Milan 2-1 AC Milan highlights and goals:

Ronaldo takes flight with AC Milan

Ronaldo may not have UEFA Champions League football to look forward to this week but the Brazil striker will be a contented man today after getting his AC Milan career off to a flier.

Madrid move
Ronaldo joined AC Milan for €7.5m from Real Madrid last month, with some believing the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year to be past his best. While the move meant he would no longer be eligible for this season's edition of Europe's élite club competition, he was eager for the challenge of helping Milan break into the Serie A top four before the end of the campaign.

Timely interventions
After a substitute appearance in last week's 2-1 win at AS Livorno Calcio, Ronaldo had a hand in three of his new club's goals at AC Siena. First his header made it 1-0, but Siena quickly equalised. His pass then set up Ricardo Oliveira to restore the Rossoneri's lead before another leveller from the home side. Ronaldo then tapped in to make it 3-2 before a third Siena goal looked like ensuring a draw, only for Massimo Ambrosini to edge an enthralling game 4-3 at the death.

Fantastic day'
Ronaldo, who has taken the Number 99 shirt at Milan, could be forgiven for not playing a part in the decisive goal as his exertions had left him severely hampered by cramp. "I gave everything I had," he said. "I was cramping up all over the place, but I managed to finish the game. I missed a good chance to score in the first half. In general I don't make those kinds of mistakes, but I'm really happy for the win. It was a fantastic day, but we can't afford to concede so many."

Ronaldo set to seal his move from Madrid to Milan today

Milan's coach, Carlo Ancelotti, expects Ronaldo's transfer from Real Madrid to be completed today, Ronaldo had a medical on Friday and Milan's vice president Adriano Galliani is in Madrid to tie up a deal for an undisclosed amount.

"He is a great player, he brings a lot of enthusiasm to the team," Ancelotti said. Ronaldo will join a team who have found some form and won their fourth game in five when Filippo Inzaghi scored in a 1-0 victory over Parma yesterday.
Milan are ninth, but with only three points separating them from Lazio and Catania in fourth they are close to a Champions League place.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, ( born 5 February 1985 ) , Born into a poor family on the Portuguese island of Madeira off the Morrocan coast, he spent his early footballing years starring for the local side, Nacional.
Sporting Lisbon snapped him up for their schoolboy team at the age of 13 for £1,500. Yet his first few months were spent defending himself from the local players who taunted him over his accent. The difference between Madeira and Lisbon is the Portuguese equivalent of England and Scotland. And on more than one occasion he found himself in bust-ups with youngsters who mocked the way he spoke. Cristiano Ronaldo became Manchester United's newest young hero when he signed from Sporting Lisbon in August 2003 and was immediately given David Beckham's number 7 shirt.The Portuguese teenager was expected to take his time to settle in England, but made an immediate impact with a stunning debut against Bolton at Old Trafford. While he did not always replicate that level of performance in his first season, Ronaldo's tricks were always entertaing at the very least.

However for all his skill and pace, Ronaldo supposedly did not want the pressure of living up to expectations with this number, and so initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting. Preferring a free role, A row between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington training ground intensified speculation about their roles at the club. Ferguson has however put his faith with Ronaldo, who signed a new deal with United that will last through 2010. Ronaldo is also quoted in the Manchester Evening News as saying "United have stood by me and been there for me and I want to repay that."

Ronaldo also performed well for Portugal in the World Cup in Germany, helping them get to the semi-finals, although his tournament was overshadowed by the part he was alleged to have played in getting United team-mate Wayne Rooney sent off in the quarter-finals. The young winger was made public enemy number one by the English press, while quotes attributed to him about wanting to join Real Madrid only made him more unpopular. 2006/07 is a big season for him if he is going to live up to the potential he has shown so far, and rise above the negative attention he will be getting from opposition fans.