The drama in the Milan derby unfolded in epic fashion as Inter Milan drew two spot-kicks in the first half of Sunday's clash with their fiercest rivals. The pendulum almost swung in favor of the blue and black half of the city but for a remarkable save by AC Milan's Ciprian Tatarusanu to deny them the lead moments after Hakan Calhanoglu had converted the first.
For the latter, it was surely not going to be a welcoming atmosphere at San Siro after sealing a controversial move to the Rossoneri's cross-town nemesis when his contract expired in the summer. However, he was presented with the perfect opportunity to silence the 'home' fans, winning a penalty after taking a tumble in the box of his former side following a coming together with Franck Kessie. The Ivorian midfielder failed to clear his lines properly and succumbed to pressure from the Turkish international but ended up having his left leg getting entangled with his former teammate.
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[ VIDEO - BUT] #SerieA
— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) November 7, 2021
CALHANOGLU OUVRE LE SCORE !!!
Passé de l'AC Milan à l'Inter cet été, le Turc trompe Tătăruşanu et en profite pour chambrer les supporters Rossoneri ! pic.twitter.com/FwGZRE3BIh
Despite the AC Milan players protesting, the verdict by the Video Assistant Referee was that the infringement should stand. Çalhanoğlu subsequently assumed penalty duties and smashed the ball past Tatarusanu for the first goal of the night in the 11th minute. Seven minutes later, parity was restored after Stefan de Vrij mistakingly scored an own-goal in an attempt to deal with a corner-kick by the opposition.
10 minutes later, Lautaro Martinez had the chance to restore the lead from yet another penalty decision but saw his attempt being saved by Tatarusanu. Watch the miss below:
NO GOAL! Lautaro Martinez takes the penalty this time and he's denied by a CRACKING save!
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_AUS) November 7, 2021
Scores remains @acmilan @Inter
Watch the #MilanDerby LIVE RIGHT NOW on beIN 2 & CONNECT | #SerieA #ACMINT #MilanInter #MILINT pic.twitter.com/4HJmTSlzC2