Cristi Chivu, two big coaching moves at Inter » They brought him the first victory in the “Derby D'Italia”

Article by Adrian Duţă – Published on Saturday, February 14, 2026 23:42 / Updated on Sunday, February 15, 2026 00:39
Inter won with Juventus, score 3-2representing Cristi Chivu's first Derby D'Italia success as Milan coach. Inter's success came at the end and was brought about by Piotr Zielinski's left-footed shot in the 90th minute.
Inter's 2nd goal was scored by Pio Esposito, none other than the striker promoted by Chivu from the Milan youth team at the start of the season.
Cristi Chivu reinvented Zielinski, the decisive player with Juventus
In the 90th minute of the derby at “Giuseppe Meazza”, Inter attacked in waves, with an extra man, looking for the 3-2 goal. After a huge miss from Bisseck, came Zielinski's long range shot. The Polish midfielder sent in a left-footed volley and sparked the frenzy in Milan.
It was the 5th goal scored by Zielinski in the 22nd match of this Serie A season. A much higher output than last season, when the Pole was just a team man in the gear of Simone Inzaghi.

Cristi Chivu reinvented Zielinski, the decisive player with Juventus/ photo Imago Images
Zielinski started as a substitute in Chivu's tenure as well, with the midfielder coming back from injury at the end of last season. But, from October, he started to get more and more minutes and became a starter, at this moment being a basic man for the Romanian coach.
Last Serie A season, the Pole played 26 Serie A matches for Inter. He managed two goals and two assists. Now, he has already surpassed his performance, with 6 decisive contributions in 22 games played. Zielinski was taken by Inter in 2024, for free, after parting with Napoli.
Pio Esposito, the player promoted by Chivu who scores decisive goals

Pio Esposito, the player promoted by Chivu/ photo Imago Images
Before Zielinski's success, Pio Esposito had also scored, making the score 2-1. The 20-year-old Italian striker scored from the box, with his head, after a Dimarco cross.
Esposito reached 4 goals scored in Serie A, in 23 games played this season. He was also decisive with Lecce, when he scored the only goal of the game won by Inter 1-0.
Pio was promoted by Chivu to the first team in the summer. Last season, he was loaned to Spezia in Serie B.




