Milan squeezed past Inter in Sunday's Serie A derby at San Siro to blow the Scudetto race wide open. Pervis Estupinan couldn't have picked a better moment to open his account in the Italian top flight as he settled a fiercely contested Derby della Madonnina.
Sitting ten points behind table-topping Inter before kickoff, Milan had no margin for error in the second edition of the most iconic Italian derby in 2025/26. The Rossoneri headed into proceedings in high spirits after clinching a late 2-0 win at Cremonese last weekend, seeking their first league double over the Nerazzurri since 2010/11.
However, Cristian Chivu's side created the first big chance of the game, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan broke one-on-one with Mike Maignan. Yet, the Armenian veteran fluffed his lines, allowing the French goalkeeper to make a comfortable save. Milan relentlessly punished the 37-year-old's miss almost immediately.
Yossouf Fofana slipped the ball through to Estupinan, who slammed it home from close range to break the deadlock in the 35th minute. Little did anyone at San Siro know it would be the final score. However, Inter struggled to deal with Milan's low defensive block in the second half despite enjoying 75% possession.
As a result, Milan have whittled down the gap to seven points, with ten games left to play. Without further ado, let's look at our player ratings.
Mike Maignan – 9/10
His reaction to thwart Mkhitaryan proved to be a game-defining moment. Though he only had to make one more save in the remainder of the match, the Frenchman looked calm and collected all game.
Strahinja Pavlovic – 8/10
Another superb performance from the Serbian center-back, who completely neutralized the likes of Ange-Yoan Bonny and Francesco Pio Esposito, keeping the latter at bay with authority.
Koni De Winter – 8/10
Just like his defensive teammate, the former Genoa star had a great game, never allowing Bonny a chance to test Maignan while making several key interceptions on either side of halftime.
Fikayo Tomori – 8/10
Despite being often criticized for his proneness to making silly mistakes, the Englishman produced a flawless display when Milan needed it most, fending off Federico Dimarco.
Pervis Estupinan – 9/10
Allegri's decision to bench Davide Bartesaghi in favor of the Ecuadorian ace caught many by surprise, but Estupinan repaid the manager's trust with a superb strike to get off the mark in the Rossoneri colors.
Adrien Rabiot – 7/10
Although the tall midfielder failed to offer much in the final third, his excellent positioning and tactical awareness helped Milan endure a second-half siege with relative ease.
Luka Modric – 6/10
Atypically for the former Ballon d'Or winner, he misplaced several simple passes tonight, but fought valiantly for every possession and helped Milan maintain composure during Inter's late push.
Youssouf Fofana – 8/10
His defense-splitting pass teed up Estupinan for the winner, as he emerged as Milan's most creative player in a potentially season-defining victory.
Alexis Saelemaekers – 7/10
While he had a relatively quiet night in attack, the Belgian winger excelled defensively, preventing Dimarco from launching numerous crosses into the box, as he often does.
Christian Pulisic – 6/10
The USMNT forward ran his socks off this evening but never came close to troubling Yann Sommer.
Rafael Leao – 4/10
It was a frustrating night for the Milan superstar, who wasted a couple of promising chances and looked bereft of confidence.
