MILAN (AFP) - AC Milan missed the chance to go top of Serie A on Sunday after a 1-1 derby draw with Inter Milan which allowed Napoli to maintain their place at the summit.
Stefano Pioli’s unbeaten side are level with Napoli on 32 points after a Stefan de Vrij own goal cancelled out Milan old boy Hakan Calhanoglu’s 11th-minute penalty for Inter in a tense, exciting encounter at the San Siro.
Milan, whose fans unfurled a huge display before the match in honor of health workers and those who had died of Covid-19, will be ruing a missed opportunity to claim first place after Napoli could only manage a 1-1 home draw with Verona earlier in the day.
“The glass is half-full because when you prepare matches you want to win them, above all the derby,” said Pioli to DAZN.
“Inter are a good team and we proved that we are strong too. It was a positive performance.”
Neither side will be happy with the derby point as they both had opportunities to win the match in front of 57,000 fans, with Alexis Saelemaekers striking the post late for Milan.
Lautaro Martinez meanwhile missed Inter’s second penalty of the night just before the half-hour mark and wasted other chances to snatch the winner for nominal away side Inter, who were looking for a win which would have boosted their title challenge.
As it is, Simone Inzaghi’s team stay seven points behind the league’s two front-runners in third place.
“For me the glass is half-empty... Looking at the chances we had we deserved more,” said Inzaghi.
“Milan and Napoli have kept up an incredible rhythm but there is time and we are up there. We want to keep pushing forward.”