Christian Pulisic marks new deal by scoring again in Milan derby win

MILAN (AP) — Christian Pulisic loves the Milan derby.

It took Pulisic less than four minutes to mark signing a new contract by scoring the goal that set AC Milan on the way to a 3-1 victory over fierce rival Inter Milan in Serie A on Saturday, inflicting the first defeat of the season on the league leader and defending champion.

It was Pulisic’s fourth goal in the Milan derby. The United States international has scored more times only against Lecce (seven).

Pulisic, who has 45 goals in 142 appearances for Milan since joining in 2023, penned a five-year contract extension on Friday — tying him to the Serie A team until 2031.

“I want to continue scoring goals in the derby, so that way we’ll win," Pulisic said with a smile after Milan's fourth straight derby victory. "These are three very important points, but we’ve got to find this consistency to play like this all the time. In the big games, it’s not a surprise that we do well.”

The Milan derby always has a high-octane atmosphere, with lavish displays of pre-match choreography from both sets of fans, and Saturday night was no different for nearly 78,000 spectators at San Siro.

Inter fans unfurled a giant display with a banner proclaiming that “fairytale time is over for you” — directed at their rivals.

But it must have seemed as if the Milan fans were indeed in dreamland as they saw their team go 2-0 up within 10 minutes.

Pulisic pounced first, meeting a Diego Moreira cross with the flick of the neck to head it into the far corner in the fourth minute.

Milan doubled its lead six minutes later with a corner kick routine that was evidently planned. Adrien Rabiot peeled off his marker to dink Moreira’s corner in off the inside of the far post.

Alessandro Bastoni headed in a corner to pull one back for Inter in the 22nd but Moreira got on the scoresheet himself shortly before the break. Both he and Pulisic were standing over a free kick but it was the Belgium international who curled a stunning effort into the top right corner.

It was the first time Moreira had scored from a free kick.

“I scored many in training,” Moreira said with a laugh. “Pulisic said to me, ‘I believe in you,’ and he was right.”

The result lifted Milan into fourth place, four points behind joint leaders Inter and Lazio — which can move solo atop Serie A with a result at home to Cagliari on Sunday.

The match came two days after the Milan clubs unveiled plans for their new stadium, which will be built adjacent to the existing arena.

There should still be at least nine derby matches remaining at the iconic San Siro before the teams move to the new stadium for, they hope, the 2031-32 season.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

AC Milan players celebrate after the end of the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan's Diego Moreira, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side third goal during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic, center heads the ball and scores the opening goal during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring a goal during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Inter Milan, Saturday, Oct. 31 , 2026, in Milan Itay. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.

The protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling public square in New Delhi, after police last month withdrew Jantar Mantar from the list of officially designated venues for demonstrations. The historic observatory had long served as the capital’s main protest site.

Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.

The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics say the exercise is politically motivated, threatens to disenfranchise millions more, and has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.

The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections.”

“The authorities should immediately scrap the voter roll revision process that has denied India’s most marginalized people their right to vote and other government services,” said Elaine Pearson, the group’s Asia director, in a statement.

The call for Kumar’s resignation has for weeks been a rallying cry for opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party seeking to challenge Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Modi has not publicly commented on the protests. Some of his party leaders have dismissed the demonstrators as “anarchists” and suggested, without offering evidence, that they are backed by foreign powers.

In July, protests led by the youth “cockroach” movement forced the resignation of Modi’s education minister, a rare setback for Modi, who has been in power for more than 12 years. The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security personnel keep watch as a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Protesters in traditional costumes wait to start a march called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)