Before kick-off, the fans unveiled a banner (see the above photo) depicting Mark Hateley’s winner in the 1984 derby which saw the Englishman leap highest to head beyond the Inter goalkeeper and end a 5 year wait for victory over the Nerazzurri.

And to think, Inter took the lead that day in late October through Altobelli after only 10 minutes, but an equaliser from Bartolomei and Hateley’s second half header ensured Milan would take the derby day spoils.

On Sunday night, the Rossoneri didn’t need to come from behind but Alex’s towering header which broke the deadlock in a 3-0 win was spookily similar to Hateley’s derby-day winner all those years before.

Opening comments: “Who was I most impressed with? Alex was fantastic at the back, Bonaventura in attack while Bacca did well too. I can only congratulate Mihajlovic after a 3-0 win in the derby. The life of a coach always goes hand in hand with the results obtained.”

Berlusconi continued: “There is still hope in qualifying for the Champions League and let’s see what results the team can now collect. Bacca is a reliable finisher, but the whole team deserves to be praised in what has been a really positive night. Mihajlovic deserves all the compliments. It is too early to talk about anything regarding next season. I liked the determination shown by the players, but we can always improve, in everything. We haven’t started to think about next season yet. We are still looking at things with Mr. Bee: the market crisis has had an influence on the agreement that he had put together with the Chinese groups. I have to add that I am also talking with others. The aim is to have the resources available for a great future. Deadlines? Yes, they exist and they are close. I would have preferred to have wrapped up everything as soon as possible.”

Closing comments from the Milan no. 1: “Clearly, the objective that is more within our reach is the Europa League, but after the derby and taking into account the matches we still have to play with the sides above us, we cannot rule out a third place finish as an objective. Bacca does what a striker does when a chance comes his way: he scores. We haven’t anything in place regarding next season. It all depends on how we do from now until the end of the season. Just like every other coach, the future of Mihajlovic depends on results.”