AC Milan vs Inter Milan: all eyes on the second Derby of the season

Nerazzurri aim to extend Serie A lead in the high-stakes Milan Derby

Today, Sunday 8 March, at 20:45 local time, Inter Milan will face AC Milan in the second Milan derby of the 2025/26 season. 

A match steeped in history, tradition, and emotion, the city, Italy, and fans worldwide will once again stop to experience the magic of the stracittadina.

Historical overview

This will be the 246th Milan derby in history. Inter Milan lead the overall record with 91 wins, compared to AC Milan’s 83, with 71 draws. 

When considering only Serie A encounters, Inter Milan have 70 victories against 56 for AC Milan, with 57 draws. In matches played at San Siro, Inter Milan have also outperformed their city rivals: 35 wins, 29 losses, and 27 draws.

Inter Milan’s form heading into the Derby

The Nerazzurri are in impressive form on the road this season: nine consecutive away wins in Serie A, with six clean sheets in the last six matches. 

Inter Milan also lead the league in set-piece goals, scoring 21 goals from dead-ball situations, including 15 from corners.

Conversely, AC Milan has struggled defensively on set pieces, conceding 10 goals from 20 set-piece situations, representing 50% of their total goals allowed.

Inter Milan also top the Serie A charts for shots attempted (501) and have conceded the fewest (219), resulting in a goal attempt differential of +282, second only to Barcelona in the top five European leagues (+293). 

The team also leads in touches in the opponent’s penalty area (959) and allows the fewest to opponents (383).

Chivu’s side is dangerous in multiple ways, leading Serie A in sequences of 10 or more passes (426), with 115 ending in a shot or touch in the box, and has scored nine long-range goals from open play, the most in the league.

The form of Federico Dimarco

Federico Dimarco has contributed to 12 goals in 10 matches in 2026 (4 goals + 8 assists), double the output of any other player in the same period. 

He is one of only five players since 2004/05 to provide more than five assists both from open play and set pieces in a single Serie A season.

Piotr Zielinski’s threat

Piotr Zielinski has historically thrived against AC Milan, scoring 4 Serie A goals against them, equal to his tally against Juventus and Udinese. 

Overall, he has contributed to 99 Serie A goals (49 goals, 50 assists), joining an elite group of midfielders to reach 50+ in both goals and assists since 2010.

Manuel Akanji’s precision

Manuel Akanji has completed 1,448 passes this season, second only to Jacobo Ramon of Como (1,487). Akanji has also scored in the last two away matches, after only one goal in 111 previous away games in Europe’s top five leagues.

The opponent: AC Milan

AC Milan sit second in the table, 10 points behind Inter Milan, after a late win against Cremonese. 

They have the fourth-best attack (43 goals) and a strong defense, conceding only 20 goals (one more than Como, one less than Inter Milan).

In the last five league matches, AC Milan have recorded three wins (Bologna, Pisa, Cremonese), a draw (Como), and a loss (Parma). 

This is only their second defeat of the season, after being beaten by Cremonese in the first matchday.

AC Milan remain unbeaten in head-to-head matches against the current top-four teams (Inter Milan, Napoli, AS Roma), with three wins and one draw. Manager Massimiliano Allegri has deployed a pragmatic 3-5-2 system that has kept the Rossoneri competitive at the top.

Top scorers for AC Milan in Serie A are Rafael Leao with 9 goals and Christian Pulisic with 9 goals across competitions.

Source: inter.it