Inter 0-1 AC Milan: Maignan's penalty heroics seal narrow Derby della Madonnina victory

Christian Pulisic and Mike Maignan starred at each end as AC Milan moved within two points of the Serie A summit with a 1-0 win over Inter in Sunday's Derby della Madonnina.

Maignan proved to be Milan's hero as he saved Hakan Calhanoglu's late penalty to crush hopes of an Inter fightback after Pulisic broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. 

Inter did, however, get themselves off to a positive start as Maignan was forced into a spectacular save to deny Marcus Thuram's diving header with four minutes on the clock. 

Francisco Acerbi was then denied by the woodwork in the 27th minute as Inter pushed for an opener, with his near-post header agonisingly crashing against the post.

Maignan was called into action once more minutes before the break as he smartly tipped Lautaro Martinez's low volley onto the post, denying a near-certain goal.

Pulisic eventually opened the scoring shortly after the restart, as Alexis Saelemaekers unleashed a low shot from distance that Yann Sommer could only parry straight into the path of the American, who made no mistake from close range.

Inter were given a golden chance to equalise 20 minutes from time when Strahinja Pavlovic clipped Thuram inside the box, with a penalty awarded following a VAR review.

But former Milan midfielder Calhanoglu was unable to drag his side level, with Maignan making a superb low save to deny his bottom-corner strike.

Data Debrief: Allegri's winning century

Following Sunday's win, Massimiliano Allegri, now in his second stint with Milan, became the seventh manager to record 100 wins in all competitions with the Rossoneri.

The only others to achieve this feat are Carlo Ancelotti, Nereo Rocco, Fabio Capello, Stefano Pioli, Nils Liedholm, and Arrigo Sacchi.

Boosted by Calhanoglu's missed penalty, Inter generated 1.6 expected goals (xG) from their 20 shots to Milan's 1.0 from their seven attempts, but were held back by a stellar performance in goal from Maignan, who celebrated his 150th match in Europe's top five leagues with a win. 

Indeed, Maignan has saved three of the last six penalties faced in Serie A, after having saved just one of the previous 12 penalties faced in the competition.