The Milan derby. The Serie A title. A 2nd star. Inter can win it all in a single night

ROME (AP) — A derby win. A Serie A title. A second star.

Inter Milan has an unprecedented chance to secure all three achievements at once with a win over AC Milan on Monday.

And city bragging rights might mean more than anything.

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan said.

Entering with a 14-point advantage over second-place Milan, Inter can stretch its lead to an insurmountable 17 points with five rounds remaining. That would secure Inter’s 20th Italian league title and earn the Nerazzurri a second star on their shirts.

A star is awarded for every 10 Serie A titles. Inter and Milan have each won the Italian league 19 times. Only Juventus, which has a record 36 titles and thus three stars, has won more.

“We’re almost at the top of the mountain and we can’t wait to see the view. But we’re not quite there yet,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, who is poised to win the league for the first time as a coach. “We still need some points and we want to get them as soon as possible.”

With Milan being the home club, most of the San Siro will be decked out in red and black, with only one end of the stadium reserved for Inter’s supporters.

Milan will be motivated after Inter routed the Rossoneri 5-1 in this season’s first derby in September.

It’s not the first Derby della Madonnina with added significance.

Inter beat Milan in both legs of the Champions League semifinals last season and also won the Italian Super Cup played in Saudi Arabia against Milan last year — with the two rivals meeting a record five times last season.

When Inter won Serie A three years ago, the team was denied an open-air bus celebration due to the coronavirus pandemic. And the team would have to wait an extra day this time due to public safety concerns.

Milan officials are concerned that a victory parade Monday night would run into potential conflict with Milan fans returning home from the derby combined with more Inter supporters streaming out of their homes to join in on the celebration. Plus, local police are scheduled to go on strike Monday.

So the bus parade would not happen until Tuesday if Inter wins.

If Inter doesn’t win, the next chance to clinch will come against Torino at the San Siro the following weekend.

Whenever it happens — a trophy for Inter seems a certainty — the title will crown a season in which Inter was not the preseason favorite.

Napoli was favored to repeat after its dominant performance last season but lies only eighth in the current standings, a whopping 34 points behind Inter.

Despite losing Romelu Lukaku to Roma, Inter has exceeded all expectations with Marcus Thuram more than making up for the Belgian’s departure with 11 goals and seven assists.

Inter captain Lautaro Martinez, who has a league-high 23 goals, is poised to be presented with the Serie A trophy after Inter’s last home game against Lazio on May 19.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer

Inter Milan's Federico Dimarco has a shot during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's head coach Simone Inzaghi gestures during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez, right, heads the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

MUNICH (AP) — Vinícius Júnior scored twice for Real Madrid to draw 2-2 at Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday.

Bayern dominated but Madrid survived, and the contest is still wide open ahead of the return leg in Madrid on May 8.

With the focus on England stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, as well as Toni Kroos’ return to his former team, Vinícius emerged as the decisive figure on a night when his bright green boots were often a blur.

The Brazil forward opened the scoring against the run of play in the 24th minute and equalized with a coolly taken penalty in the 83rd after Leroy Sané and Kane had scored for Bayern.

“I think it’s a good result,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who led Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2017. “It gives us faith and confidence for the second leg. It’s completely open."

Kane’s goal, another penalty, was the England forward’s 43rd goal in 43 games for Bayern this season.

“It felt like the goals were scored when the other team was better," Kroos said. “We're pretty sure that we'll advance at home."

Bayern had appealed to fans to wear red to the game and the visitors must have felt they were playing in a red cauldron as they were greeted by deafening whistles from the majority of the 75,000 in the stadium.

Fans in the “Südkurve” paid respect to deceased club great Franz Beckenbauer with a huge red-and-white choreography before kickoff. A giant banner sent a message to the players as they were warming up: “To honor the Kaiser Franz, give everything to reach the final!”

The winners of the two-leg semifinal will play either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in London on June 1.

“Real Madrid does this to teams, so we should not be too disappointed,” Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said. “I think we will be able to create chances in the Bernabéu. This is one of the most difficult places to win, yes, but it’s a challenge. That’s the beauty of it.”

Bayern totally dominated the opening stages on Tuesday. Sané had an effort saved by Andriy Lunin in the first minute and the hosts went on to miss a slew of chances.

"We didn’t have enough intensity, especially in the first half," Ancelotti said.

Nearly 20 minutes elapsed before Madrid enjoyed a period with the ball.

Then Kroos spotted Vinícius’ run and played a perfect through ball for the Brazilian to sweep the visitors’ first real chance past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal.

Bayern lost its early zest as the visitors saw more of the ball. Tuchel gesticulated wildly at his players to push forward, then threw his arms up in exasperation.

Kane went closest with a free kick before the break, awarded for a foul by Nacho on Jamal Musiala, who gingerly rubbed his bandaged left leg. The Germany forward had only just recovered from a knee problem.

Sané equalized in the 53rd when he ran at the Madrid defense and cut inside Ferland Mendy before firing a fierce strike just inside the near post.

Kane made it 2-1 four minutes later with a penalty awarded after Lucas Vázquez bundled over Musiala.

But it wasn’t the last penalty as Kim Min-jae — who was beaten on Vinícius’ first goal —brought down Rodrygo. Vinícius duly equalized from the spot.

“It was a back-and-forth game,” Bayern midfielder Konrad Laimer said. “But yeah, it’s Real Madrid, you can’t let anything happen against this team.”

This story was corrected to show Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti led Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2017, not 2016.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Munich's Leroy Sane, center, scores his side's first goal during the Champions League, semifinal first leg, soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni, right, and Bayern's Harry Kane greet each other at the end of the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern Munich players applaud fans at the end of the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Real Madrid's Brahim Diaz, right, speaks with Bayern's Noussair Mazraoui at the end of the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich players greet each other at the end of the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane, right, scores his side's second goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Leroy Sane, second right, scores his side's opening goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)

Munich's Leroy Sane, celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Champions League, semifinal first leg, soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal on a penalty kick during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)