Serie A roundup: AC Milan earns 3-1 derby win over Inter; Roma thumps Udinese 5-2

AC Milan's Adrien Rabiot (far right) celebrates with his teammate after scoring his side’s second goal against Inter Milan. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

AC Milan’s Diego Moreira claimed one goal and two assists as his side took local bragging rights and ​three precious points with a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan in their Serie ‌A clash on Saturday, while AS Roma enjoyed a 5-2 ​victory at Udinese.

In a week when Milan and Inter ⁠announced they would build a new shared 71,500-seater stadium to replace the San Siro, Milan’s fast start earned the win that lifts it into fourth place, four ‌points behind leader Lazio and Inter, which has 25.

The result means Lazio can move three points clear of Inter when ‌it hosts Cagliari on Sunday. Roma is third on 24 points.

Milan ‌made ⁠the perfect start as Christian Pulisic headed its opener after ⁠four minutes before Adrien Rabiot added a second six minutes later. Inter pulled a goal back through Alessandro Bastoni in the 22nd, and the momentum was with it.

The next ​goal was always going to ‌be crucial, and it went to Milan as Moreira scored with a superb free-kick just before halftime to help his side to a fourth straight win over Inter.

Roma was 4-0 up in 37 minutes ‌at Udinese as it overwhelmed the host, which is second-bottom on ​five points. Bryan Cristante headed the first goal after 10 minutes, before Matias Soule and Donyell Malen struck the woodwork.

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Rodrigo ⁠Mora netted the second in the 31st minute after being set up by Cristante, and two minutes later Malen scored his eighth Serie A ‌goal of the season.

Evan Ndicka headed the fourth from a corner before halftime, after which Udinese mounted something of a comeback. Nicolo Zaniolo and Matteo Palma scored for the host but Daniele Ghilardi added a fifth, his first Serie A goal, for Roma.

“If we play like this, there is a chance. The league is not easy, and it’s nice ‌to stay in (the title race). We are scoring a lot, and that is very ​important,” Cristante said.

Bologna climbed to ninth with a third successive league win thanks to a 2-1 victory over Monza, its first home ⁠success since April.

Tommaso Pobega and Federico Bernardeschi netted for Bologna after the ⁠visitor converted an early penalty through Gustavo Varela, the top Serie A scorer with nine goals in as many games.

He had ‌been substituted by the time Monza was awarded a second penalty in the final 10 minutes, and this time Patrick Cutrone missed from ​the spot as it was denied a point.