A decisive goal from Piotr Zielinski in the final moments propelled Inter Milan to an eight-point lead over their rivals in the Serie A standings, as they secured a hard-fought victory against Juventus, who were playing with ten men.
This pivotal midfielder sealed a valuable 3-2 triumph in the Derby d’Italia during the very last seconds at San Siro, precisely when it seemed Juventus, after their defender Pierre Kalulu was ejected three minutes before halftime, had managed to salvage a draw.
Earlier in the match, Andrea Cambiaso netted for both teams, and Francesco Pio Esposito re-established Inter’s advantage before Manuel Locatelli equalized, yet nothing could prevent Cristian Chivu’s squad from achieving their sixth consecutive league triumph.
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Inter secured an early advantage in the 17th minute after Cambiaso inadvertently put the ball into his own goal, though he stylishly compensated for this error barely nine minutes later.
Weston McKennie created room for himself on the right flank to deliver a sharp cross, and the defender capitalized on Luis Henrique’s lapse in attention, sneaking in at the back post to tap the leveling goal beyond goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Nevertheless, the visiting team’s circumstances deteriorated further just three minutes prior to the conclusion of an action-packed first half when Kalulu, having previously received a booking for a foul on Nicolò Barella, committed another infraction against Alessandro Bastoni, resulting in his ejection for accumulating two yellow cards.
Sommer thwarted Cambiaso’s attempt at a peculiar hat trick five minutes following the second half’s commencement, subsequently blocking shots from Fabio Miretti and McKennie as the short-handed side pushed forward, which in turn spurred a reaction from the leading team.
Esposito restored the home team’s lead with a header when 14 minutes were left on the clock, and despite Juve captain Locatelli drawing the score even after 83 minutes had passed, Zielinski seized the win right at the very end.
