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Ibrahimovic leads AC Milan to 1st league derby win since 2016

Jonathan Moscrop / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice in the first half of Saturday's entertaining Derby della Madonnina to give AC Milan a 2-1 win over Inter Milan, the club's first victory over its Serie A city rival since January 2016.

The result extends Milan's unbeaten run in all competitions to 20 matches, dating back to the middle of June. They're also the only remaining team in Serie A with a perfect 4-0 record to start the 2020-21 season.

Ibrahimovic earned a penalty in the 13th minute after drawing contact from Aleksandar Kolarov. The 39-year-old striker missed the subsequent spot-kick, but he made sure to bury the rebound.

Milan doubled their lead three minutes later when winger Rafael Leao found Ibrahimovic in the box with a spectacular cross from the left flank. The big Swede, who recently recovered from COVID-19, has now scored five goals in three games.

Inter eventually settled down, and in the 26th minute, Romelu Lukaku - one of the favorites to win the Serie A scoring title - snuck behind Milan's defense to bundle home Ivan Perisic's low cross into the area.

The match descended into chaos in the second half, with seven yellow cards given to both teams. Lukaku thought he'd drawn a penalty in the 73rd minute when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma slid into the Belgian's path and appeared to clip him. But the video assistant referee ruled Lukaku was offside during the buildup.

Lukaku earned one more chance to equalize deep in second-half stoppage time, but Donnarumma gobbled up his backheel attempt.

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