It's halftime in the Derby della Madonnina, and although there haven't been a plethora of goals in the match between Inter Milan and AC Milan, there's been plenty of action. Still, just the goal by Walter Samuel separates the two sides as they go into the break.
It took less than four minutes for Inter to assert their dominance at the San Siro. Milan, flustered already by the nerazzurri pressure, gave away a free kick. Esteban Cambiasso stepped up to take, curling the ball over the heads of the Milan defence. Walter Samuel broke free of Mattia De Sciglio to head the ball past a diving Christian Abbiati.
Less than five minutes later, Diego Milito nearly doubled Inter's lead. He was free inside the area, but Abbiati was up to this challenge, easily saving the Argentine's header.
Milan had their first real attempt on goal in the 14th minute. Urby Emanuelson pulled his free kick back, setting up Riccardo Montolivo, who let fly with a rocket. Unfortunately for the rossoneri, his shot went just wide.
It took about twenty minutes, but Milan finally started to shake off the Inter pressure and assert themselves on the match. The combination of Kevin-Prince Boateng in the center and Stephan El Shaarawy out wide seems to work best for the side, but their final touch is still letting them down. Prince, eager to find the equaliser, keeps sending his shots wide of goal, barely troubling Samir Handanović.
Forty minutes in, Milan found the back of the net, but unfortunately for the rossoneri, Montolivo's thirty-meter shot was ruled out. Emanuelson had clattered into Handanović moments before, and the whistle had gone before Montolivo took his shot.
As befitting for a derby, it's been a bit of a feisty match. Philippe Mexès and Nigel de Jong have seen yellow for Milan -- no surprise there -- while Juan Jesus and Yuto Nagatomo have cards for Inter.