Inter Remain Clear Favourites To Win Serie A, Says Allegri After Derby

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Massimiliano Allegri struck a careful tone after AC Milan beat Inter 1-0 in the Derby della Madonnina, stressing that the result does not suddenly transform the Serie A title race, even though Milan cut the gap at the top to seven points at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

Pervis Estupinan settled the derby with a 35th-minute strike, but Allegri aligned himself with the Opta supercomputer, which rates Milan’s chances of catching Inter at just 5.6%, and argued that the league leaders still hold a strong advantage in the Serie A standings.

"Inter have a seven-point lead. That's a big advantage, they are still the strongest team and the clear favourites," Allegri told DAZN Italia as quoted by Football Italia. "We could've done better and been sharper in the final third in a few situations. We can only be happy, because we have kept Juventus at -10 points, Como and Roma at -9, so it was important to get a result today."

The numbers from the Derby della Madonnina underlined how hard AC Milan had to work. Milan produced nine attempts worth 0.77 expected goals, while Inter registered 11 shots for an xG total of 1.24, and Cristian Chivu’s side increasingly dictated territory during the second half.

The clearest Inter chance came after the break, when Federico Dimarco arrived inside the penalty area but shot over. Despite that spell of pressure, Milan protected Estupinan’s goal and Allegri argued that the defensive structure held firm when Inter pushed higher and delivered more crosses into the box.

"We used up a lot of energy in the first half, then obviously Inter stepped up a gear, and we allowed them a few more crosses when we sat deeper," continued Allegri. "However, apart from Dimarco's chance on the counter-attack, I don't remember genuine Inter chances. We had some favourable situations too and could've gone into the break 2-0 up. Having said that, yet again, I need to point out Inter remain the clear favourites for the Scudetto. This victory gives us a morale-booster."

The Derby della Madonnina outcome also carried historical weight for AC Milan. The Rossoneri completed a league double over Inter for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when Allegri was in his initial spell in charge, and they have now posted three straight wins in all competitions against their neighbours, the longest such sequence since November 2010 to August 2011.

This victory lifted AC Milan to 60 points from 28 Serie A fixtures, marking only the fourth time since 2009-10 that the club has reached that tally at this stage, and Allegri highlighted that the result also helped manage the gap to Juventus, Como and Roma in the race for European positions.

AC Milan Champions League target within Serie A title race

Throughout the campaign Allegri has stressed that returning AC Milan to the Champions League is the primary objective, and stated that this focus has guided the season’s planning rather than direct pursuit of Inter, even with the derby success narrowing the margin.

"We worked seven months to make sure we reached March in the best possible condition," Allegri added. "This is when the most important games of the season are played and everything is decided."

Allegri’s comments and the underlying data suggest AC Milan view the Derby della Madonnina win mainly as a step towards securing Champions League qualification, while accepting that Inter retain control of the Serie A title race despite the psychological lift gained from another derby success.