Inter Milan maintained their winning start to the Serie A season by beating city rivals AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro.
Luiz Adriano came close to giving Milan an early lead when his close-range strike was saved by Samir Handanovic.
On the stroke of half time Inter almost broke the deadlock as Mauro Icardi was played through on goal and saw his attempt blocked by Diego Lopez.
Inter did manage to find the net just before the hour mark when Fredy Guarin crashed a low drive into the bottom corner.
Mario Balotelli came within inches of levelling the scores when his long-range effort smashed against the post, but Milan were unable to find the net, as Inter won their third match of the campaign.
Find out how the action unfolded below.
Hello everyone! We should be in for a treat this evening, as one of world football's biggest derbies takes place at the San Siro. There are points and pride at stake, as Inter Milan and AC Milan go head-to-head for the first time this season!
It has been a positive start to the season for Inter, who have won their opening two league games. A stoppage-time winner from Steven Jovetic game them the points in their first match against Atalanta, and the on-loan Manchester City forward scored a double to secure a 2-1 win against Capri in their previous outing.
AC Milan, meanwhile, have endured a mixed start to life under Sinisa Mihajlovic. They suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina in their league opener, but they bounced back to claim a 2-1 win over Empoli in their next match, with summer signings Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano grabbing the goals.
Less than one hour to the #DerbyMilano! The Rossoneri just checked the pitch of the San Siro Stadium! #InterMilan pic.twitter.com/guXek3UxRi
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 13, 2015
The build up to tonight's match has been dominated by talk of which players will be starting and if any new players will be involved. I can answer those questions for you now, as the team news from San Siro has arrived!
INTER MILAN XI: Handanovic, Santon, Medel, Murillo, Jesus, Guarin, Melo, Kondogbia, Perisic, Icardi, Jovetic
AC MILAN XI: Lopez, Abate, Zapata, Romagnoli, De Sciglio, Kucka, Montolivo, Bonaventura, Honda, Adriano, Bacca
INTER MILAN SUBS: Carrizo, Palacio, Biabiany, Telles, Montoya, Ljajic, Ranocchia, Gnoukouri, D'Ambrosio, Nagatomo, Brozovic, Manaj
AC MILAN SUBS: Abbiati, Donnarumma, Mexes, Suso, Cerci, Ely, Poli, Nocerino, Alex, De Jong, Balotelli, Calabria
So, that's how the teams will be lining up this evening. Let's start with Inter Milan, who have been able to select Mauro Icardi in their starting XI. The Argentine picked up a thigh injury in the opening match of the season against Atalanta and was rated as a doubt for tonight's match, but he will lead the line.
Joining Icardi in the attack is Stevan Jovetic, who has scored three goals for Inter since his loan move from Manchester City, and Ivan Perisic, who was a £14.5m signing from Wolfsburg on the final day of the transfer window.
Another one of Inter's recent signings Felipe Melo is handed a debut in the centre of the midfield, where he will link up with Geoffrey Kondogbia and Fredy Guarin. There is a slight surprise at the back though, as Gary Medel is chosen to partner Jeison Murillo in the centre of the defence.
Moving onto AC Milan now, and Sinisa Mihajlovic has stuck with big-money summer signings Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca as his forward pairing., with Keisuke Honda playing in the hole just behind them. The two strikers both found the net last time out against Empoli last time out and have been tasked with helping to fire the club back into Europe.
They have made some interesting choices in the midfield, as Riccardo Montolivo starts his first game of the season. Juraj Kucka, who joined at the end of August from Genoa, is given the nod by his manager, while Giacomo Bonaventura also starts.
Of course there is no forgetting about Mario Balotelli, who has joined on a season-long from Liverpool. He actually arrived just before the match against Empoli, but did not come on and will be hoping to make his second debut for the club at some point this evening.
While this match will always be huge for fans of both clubs, the significance of their meetings in Serie A over the last four seasons have not had too much impact on the title race. In fact, last season the clubs finished in eighth and tenth place in the league, leaving both without European football.
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Taking away their recent form, they are two of the most successful teams in Italian football and have each won 18 Serie A titles, with only Juventus (31) lifting the Scudetto on more occasions. They have enjoyed more success on the continent than the Old Lady, with AC Milan winning the European Cup seven times, to the three that Inter have managed.
The two teams have just made their way out onto the pitch and to a packed San Siro. There is a great atmosphere inside the ground, and we are now just a few minutes away from the start of tonight's match.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the San Siro!
CHANCE! What a huge chance this is for Milan to take an early lead. Murillo gives the ball away horribly to Bacca, who then strides towards the edge of the box and slips in Adriano. The Brazilian is faced with just Handanovic to beat, but the keeper spreads himself well to block the Brazilian's low strike.
SHOT! It has been a very bright start to the match from both teams and now Inter have their first shot of the evening. This time Milan lose the ball cheaply and Jovetic picks up possession 25 yards out from goal. He works some space and gets the ball onto his right foot before drilling in a low drive, but it flies just a few inches wide of the post.
SHOT! The efforts on goal keep on coming and it's Adriano who has another chance. He shows great pace to get in down the right, before firing in a strike from a tight angle, but his final attempt is poor and he blazes the ball high and wide of the target.
The match has begun at such a high tempo and you wonder how long these teams will be able to keep it up. It is making for a great watch and we have already seen some good chances from both sides go to waste.
At the moment Inter are dominating possession and seeing plenty of the ball in the Milan half, but their opponents look more dangerous on the counter attack. There is plenty of space for them to exploit in the midfield, with Inter a little slow to get back when they lose the ball.
Inter have looked slightly shaky at the back this evening and Bacca is given acres of space to charge forward. He looks to be through on goal with a chance of testing the keeper, but Medel gets back to make a superb last-ditch block to stop him in his tracks.
Milan fans must be encouraged at the partnership between Baccca and Adriano in the attack. They have linked up well on several occasions this evening and they have caused the Inter defence a number of problems in these opening 20 minutes.
YELLOW CARD! Abate picks up the first booking of the match for bringing down Jovetic as the Montenegrin looked to charge beyond him by the touchline.
Inter are still enjoying lots of possession and they almost turn that into a goal when Perisic threads a ball through to Guarin. The Colombian is at a slightly tight angle, but decides to for goal and sees his fierce attempt take a touch of De Sciglio and crash into the side netting.
Although this is a fiercely contested derby, we haven't seen too many crunching tackles this evening. There hasn't been a red card in the last three games between the teams, but it doesn't usually take much for things to boil over in this clash.
SHOT! Honda is capable of the spectacular when he gets the ball onto his left foot, and he cuts inside from the right and fires in a low drive. He makes good contact with the ball, but his shot is too close to Handanovic, who gets down and makes a comfortable save.
I have mentioned that Inter's defence has looked slightly unconvincing and they are almost beaten by a long ball over the top as Adriano latches onto De Sciglio's clearance from deep inside his own half. On this occasion the ball bounces up and hits the Brazilian on the arm, but it will have been another worrying sign for Mancini.
YELLOW CARD! Jesus becomes the first Inter player to be shown a card this evening for a foul on Kucka.
SHOT! What a superb goal this would have been from Jovetic. The Montenegrin drives through the midfield and finds some space around 25 yards from goal. With Milan's defenders backing off he decides to fire in a strike, which has Lopez beaten, but flashes inches wide of the far post.
YELLOW CARD! Honda is the latest player to go into the referee's notebook for a challenge on Jovetic. He did appear to make contact with the ball, and can consider himself slightly unfortunate to be shown a card.
There will be just one minute added on before the break.
CHANCE! Big, big chance for Inter to take the lead on the stroke of half time. Icardi has not threatened too often, but he bursts onto Perisic's pass and is clean through on goal. He then looks to slot an effort into the corner, but Lopez is there to make a fine block and keep the scores level.
HALF-TIME: Inter Milan 0-0 AC Milan
It's half time at San Siro and it is still goalless between Inter Milan and AC Milan. Both teams have had their chances to score, with Luiz Adriano and Mauro Icardi coming close, in what has been a very watchable derby clash.
LIVE: First #DerbyMilano pics from San Siro. #Perisic, #Santon, @_felipemelo_ and @MauroIcardi in #InterMilan pic.twitter.com/fAeBjk9XC1
— F.C. Internazionale (@Inter_en) September 13, 2015
Here's the all-important statistics from the opening 45 minutes. Inter have seen more of the ball throughout the half and have racked up 58% of the possession. There has also been plenty of shots on goal from both clubs, with Inter having nine attempts, compared to the eight that Milan have managed.
It's been a busy weekend of football in Italy with some notable results from across the country. Champions Juventus are still looking for their first win, after coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Chievo. Napoli are winless too, following their 2-2 draw with Empoli this afternoon, while Roma have looked the most impressive of the title challengers and claimed a 2-0 victory over Frosinone on Saturday evening.
RESTART! Milan take the kick off and get the second half started!
It's end to end in the opening minutes of the half, with each team attacking the other with plenty of pace. There are huge gaps once again in the heart of the midfield, and it is creating a very high tempo and intense contest.
Huge let off for Lopez, who gives the ball away cheaply with a poor clearance that is pounced upon by Jovetic. The striker then charges to the edge of the box and fires in a low drive, but Romagnoli gets back and makes a vital block.
Bacca has looked lively for Milan all evening and he shrugs off a number of challenges before laying the ball off for Bonaventura just outside the box. The Italian then drills in a fierce strike, that takes a slight deflection on its way behind for a corner.
CHANCE! Perisic has shown some neat touches this evening and he does well to get to the byline, before swinging in a teasing cross to the back post. Gurain arrives to meet the ball and sees his downward header bounce up, before being tipped over the bar by Lopez.
GOAL! Inter Milan 1-0 AC Milan (Fredy Guarin)
Guarin came close to scoring a few moments ago, but he makes the breakthrough with a fine finish. Inter had almost lost the ball inside their own box, before they broke quickly with Guarin picking up possession midway through the Milan half. He then drove towards the box and got the ball onto his left foot, before firing in superb strike that left Lopez with no chance as it found the bottom corner.
Jesus is fortunate not to pick up a booking for dragging Adriano down just outside the box. He was shown a card in the first half and he could easily have been sent off for that challenge.
SUB! Balotelli is on for his second Milan debut in place of Bacca.
CHANCE! Balotelli almost sets up a goal with his first touch of the ball. The forward goes across to take the free kick that Adriano had just won and whips a delightful ball into the box. Kucka manages to get a slight flick on the ball, but it ends up going across the six-yard box and wide of the far post.
YELLOW CARD! Melo picks up a card for a late challenge on Balotelli.
YELLOW CARD! It's Kucka who is handed a booking on this occasion for a poor tackle on Jesus.
SUB! Jesus is unable to continue after that challenge and has to be stretchered off the pitch. His replacement is Telles, who is making his debut after joining from Galatasaray.
Balotelli has swung in some brilliant deliveries from set pieces since his arrival, but Milan have not been able to take advantage so far. They are sure to get plenty more opportunities in the closing stages, as they look to stop their rivals from claiming the points today.
CHANCE! Almost a second goal for Inter, as Icardi makes a great run to the front post to meet Santon's low cross. He stoops to meet the delivery with a header, but can only turn his effort inches over the bar.
SUBS! Changes for both teams, as Poli replaces Kucka for Milan, while Inter bring on Palacio for Jovetic.
Milan are piling on the pressure now and they are putting a number of crosses into the box. However, Inter's defenders are holding firm at the back and are clearing everything that is coming their way.
OFF THE POST! Balotelli has looked lively since coming on and he comes within inches of getting his team back into the match. He picks up possession 25 yards out from goal and fires in a powerful low drive that has the keeper beaten, but crashes against the outside of the post and heads out of play.
SUB! Milan make their third and final change of the match, with Cerci coming on to replace Honda.
SAVE! Balotelli is given another chance to try his luck on goal when he wins a free kick some 30 yards out. He decides to go for goal and thunders in a powerful shot towards the bottom corner that forces Handanovic to get down and push the ball behind for a corner.
SUB! Ranocchia is coming on for Inter to replace Perisic.
Milan are still pressing for a late goal, but Inter are holding firm at the back and are putting in a number of firm tackles on their opponents. You would not rule out some late drama in the final minutes, especially with the likes of Balotelli on the pitch.
There are going to be at least five minutes of stoppage time. That will encourage Milan, but I'm sure Mancini will not be too happy with the officials.
SHOT! Milan win a free kick in a promising position to the right of the box which is whipped into the middle by Balotelli. Inter manage to clear the delivery to Bonaventura on the edge of the box, but the midfielder wastes the chance to score, by blazing the ball wildly over the bar.
FULL-TIME: Inter Milan 1-0 AC Milan
The final whistle blows at San Siro and Inter Milan have held on to beat Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. Fredy Guarin's fine strike was enough to settle the contest and maintain his side's winning start to the new season.
I'm afraid that's all we've got time for from Milan. We'll be back with more live coverage throughout the week, as the group stage of the Champions League and Europa League get underway. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
