Serie A fans were treated to an enthralling Milan Derby on Sunday, as the unfancied Inter pulled off a frenetic 3-2 victory over cross-city rivals AC Milan. The Nerazzurri had been heavily criticized following an awful performance just three days earlier as they crashed out of the Europa League, and reports were rife that coach Luciano Spalletti was close to losing his job.

“The Great Derby of the Crazy Inter”

Great Headline featured in this morning’s @CorSport pic.twitter.com/BzYYZ9BqHk

— Chloe Beresford (@ChloeJBeresford) March 18, 2019

Yet somehow the tactician managed to pull this result out of the bag, as he named a strong XI – the side still without the conspicuously absent Mauro Icardi – and outcoached his opposite number Gennaro Gattuso. If there was ever a statement of intent, it was that this team, nicknamed Pazza (crazy) Inter, took the lead after just three minutes. 

There was plenty of end-to-end action as the Rossoneri had made it 3-2 with 20 minutes still left to play, and almost equalized if it had not been for a superb last-ditch block in the penalty area by Danilo D’Ambrosio. In truth, though, Inter controlled the majority of the match, and now it is up to the coach to ensure this form continues as they look to secure Champions League football.

Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.