Pulisic scores and Maignan saves a penalty as Milan beats Inter in Serie A derby

MILAN (AP) — Christian Pulisic scored in his first start for more than a month and Mike Maignan saved a penalty as AC Milan beat Inter Milan 1-0 in a thrilling derby on Sunday.

Milan's win prevented its city rival from going joint top of Serie A.

That left Roma as sole leader after Gian Piero Gasperini’s side won 3-1 at Cremonese earlier in the day.

Roma has 27 points, two more than Milan and Napoli and three more than Inter and Bologna.

Maignan was named player of the match, an accolade Pulisic agreed with.

“100%. I just scored an easy goal, he saved us maybe 10 times,” Pulisic said. “For me, it's my job, I have to score goals. I was in the right place at the right time.”

Pulisic had returned from injury in Milan’s last match, coming on in the 70th minute and almost scoring a late winner in the 2-2 draw at Parma.

The United States international had been Milan’s best player until his injury and proved he was back to that form when he pounced in the 54th minute. Youssouf Fofana stole the ball off Hakan Çalhanoğlu in midfield and sent Alexis Saelemaekers on a rapid counterattack. His effort was saved by Yann Sommer but Pulisic tapped in the rebound.

Inter had hit the woodwork twice before that goal and was offered a golden opportunity to level when it was awarded a penalty after Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic stepped on Marcus Thuram’s foot.

However, Maignan saved Çalhanoğlu’s effort.

Roma coach Gasperini went from screaming on the sidelines to beaming from the stands in a matter of minutes.

That was because Roma netted two goals shortly after he was sent off to seal the win that sent it back to the top of Serie A.

Cremonese had proved tricky opponents for a number of sides this season and it took several impressive saves from Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar to keep it at bay.

Roma took the lead with its first real chance of the match. Manu Koné played a one-two with Lorenzo Pellegrini before finding Matías Soulé on the edge of the area and he curled a fantastic strike into the bottom left corner.

Svilar pushed a Cremonese strike onto the woodwork and the hosts also had a penalty revoked on video review on the stroke of halftime after a ball struck the arm of Roma defender Gianluca Mancini.

The referee confirmed the handball was “not punishable” as Mancini’s arm had been flush with his body.

Gasperini was sent off in the 62nd minute. The Roma coach was furious after being booked for dissent and repeatedly screamed “I didn’t say anything” — earning him a second yellow card. He was still screaming as he stormed off.

Two minutes later Roma doubled its lead as the ball pinged around the area before falling to substitute Evan Ferguson to curl in for his first goal for the club.

Gasperini may not have been in position to see that goal but he was shown on television full of smiles after Roma’s third, in the 69th.

Wesley sprung the offside trap to run onto Stephan El Shaarawy’s through ball and slot it past the onrushing Emil Audero.

Francesco Folino headed in a late consolation for Cremonese.

Mateo Pellegrino scored twice to help Parma win 2-1 at Hellas Verona in a crucial relegation fight.

Parma moved three points above the drop zone while Verona slipped to bottom place, three points from safety.

Lecce is only two points above the drop after losing 2-0 at Lazio.

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

From the left, AC Milan's Strahinja Pavlovic, Fikayo Tomori, and Matteo Gabbia celebrate after the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's goalkeeper Mike Maignan saves a penalty kick during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Cremonese players look dejected after Roma scored during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Cremonese and Roma in Cremona, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Alberto Mariani/LaPresse via AP)

Referee Giovanni Ayroldi shows a yellow card to Roma's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Cremonese and Roma in Cremona, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Alberto Mariani/LaPresse via AP)

during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's goalkeeper Mike Maignan saves in front of Inter Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Cremonese's Antonio Sanabria, center, during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Cremonese and Roma in Cremona, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Alberto Mariani/LaPresse via AP)

Roma's Matias Soule celebrates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Cremonese and Roma in Cremona, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Alberto Mariani/LaPresse via AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has spent his campaign for Ohio governor focused on November's general election and finally gets the chance Tuesday to put the long primary season behind him, as the Trump-endorsed biotech entrepreneur positions for an expensive run against Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director.

Contests on the ballots also will set the stage for Ohio's third competitive U.S. Senate race in the last four years, as well as a handful of U.S. House races that are expected to be closely fought in the fall.

Every statewide executive office is open this year due to term limits, but the governor's race has captured the bulk of the attention so far.

Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP primary presidential candidate, swept onto the state's political scene early last year as a mad shuffle was taking place. Then-Sen. JD Vance was ascending to the vice presidency and front-running gubernatorial candidate Jon Husted was being appointed to replace him in Washington.

That opened a window of opportunity at the top of Republicans' statewide ticket.

Though he is a newcomer in state politics, Ramaswamy's national profile, tech industry connections and proximity to Trump landed him the Ohio Republican Party's endorsement. With it, he cleared a prospective field that included the sitting state attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor.

But Democrats also saw opportunity with the open governors seat, even as the state, a former bellwether, has tipped convincingly toward Republicans during the Trump era. The president’s lagging approval ratings on the economy and dissatisfaction over the war in Iran are contributing to a competitive contest.

Acton, a physician and public health expert, emerged as their choice. She became a household name across Ohio in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she stood alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during daily coronavirus broadcasts. Her comforting presence during the crisis made her a beloved figure with many Ohioans.

But the administration's aggressive actions — including shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling an election — also earned Acton plenty of enemies and made her the occasional target of people upset about pandemic policies, with some armed protesters showing up outside her home.

Ramaswamy's campaign has sought to capitalize on the lingering anger over pandemic restrictions with attacks on Acton's role early in the crisis. Ramaswamy was advising the lieutenant governor at the time — Husted — on virus-related economic issues and he founded a company that profited off its role developing vaccines.

Acton is unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ramaswamy faces a long-shot challenge from Casey Putsch. The engineer and car designer is a YouTube provocateur who has trolled Ramaswamy incessantly over his Indian heritage and Hindu faith and painted him as an out-of-touch billionaire “tech bro.”

Husted is unopposed in the GOP primary for Senate, a special election to fill the remainder of the six-year Senate term Vance won in 2022. Husted's likely opponent will be Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former three-term senator who lost a reelection bid against Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, a contest where spending hit $500 million. Brown faces a minor primary challenge from first-time candidate Ron Kincaid.

Early voting began April 7 under some new election laws, including citizenship checks and elimination of the four-day grace period for receiving mailed ballots. There have been no reports so far of any widespread problems for voters related to the changes.

In the wake of a new round of redistricting that slightly favored Republicans, the state also has numerous partisan congressional primaries.

The most heated GOP primary is in the Toledo area’s 9th District for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in Congress.

The five-way contest includes former state Rep. Derek Merrin, whom Kaptur defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, as well as an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, a sitting state representative and the former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Madison Sheahan.

In Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman's Cincinnati-area district, which his party considers a “must-hold,” the three-way Republican primary includes Eric Conroy, a CIA and Air Force veteran who has been endorsed by Trump, Vance and Moreno.

Landsman also faces a primary challenge from Damon Lynch IV, the grandson of a prominent civil rights leader. Lynch has criticized Landsman for his initial vote against a war powers resolution on the war in Iran, which Landsman later followed up with a favorable vote.

In the Akron area's 13th District, five Republicans including business owner Neil Patel, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, are vying for the opportunity to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.

As a Trump-backed national effort to remake congressional maps in Republicans' favor was underway, Ohio Democrats took a could-have-been-worse approach and passed the map they were given unanimously.

Now party candidates are crowding congressional primaries across the state for the chance to take on sitting Republican representatives, who hold 10 of Ohio's 15 seats.

The newly redrawn 7th District in the Cleveland area has attracted eight Democrats hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a former senior Trump adviser, in November. Among them is former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.

In northeast Ohio's 14th District, former state Supreme Court Justice William O'Neill is among three Democrats seeking to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce. Joyce also has two primary challengers.

Meanwhile six Democrats are on the ballot in the Dayton-area 10th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner. There are seven in GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli's 6th District along the Ohio River and five in the 5th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta.

Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks during a campaign event ahead of primary elections at the Paladin Brewery in Austintown, Ohio, Thursday, April, 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

FILE - Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio, gestures as she speaks with a reporter in Columbus, Ohio April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks to supporters before the Warren County Republicans Lincoln Day Dinner at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)