Mauro Icardi Hat-Trick Lifts Inter Milan Past AC Milan in Derby Clash

Mauro Icardi stole the show during Inter's 3-2 win over rivals Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday, bagging a hat-trick for the Nerazzurri.

As shared by OptaPaolo, he became the first player in over five years to accomplish the feat:

What made the captain's feat even more impressive was his lack of form entering the derby, via Football Italia: 

Those numbers took a serious boost with this hat-trick:

It took the Argentina international 28 minutes to open the scoring, the only goal in an otherwise busy first half. As expected, the Milan derby was a furious affair, with plenty of flying tackles and cards.

Icardi's opener was a simple tap-in after a cross from Antonio Candreva and set the tone for a remarkable second half. Suso equalised after 56 minutes, curling a beauty from the edge of the box past Samir Handanovic.

ItalianFootballTV loved what they saw:

Matias Vecino and Giacomo Bonaventura both went close before Icardi struck again, this time with an acrobatic volley that was a lot harder to put away than it looked.

The fast pace continued, and Bonaventura pounced on an error from Handanovic, tying things up with nine minutes to play. Fans could sense they were in for a spectacular finale, and that's exactly what they got as Ricardo Rodriguez gave away a penalty.

The full-back had his arms around his man, but Milan fans were still furious with the decision, believing it was soft. Icardi didn't let the Rossoneri distract him, however, scoring the spot kick to send Inter into second place in Serie A, just two points behind Napoli. 

Milan are 10th, already seven points behind defending champions Juventus.