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Footballmedia.net Exclusive- Rashid Saadlou: Going down to nine men wasn't enough to stop the irresistible Inter beating their bitter-rivals Milan in San Siro on Sunday night as Jose Mourinho gives an emphatic word of warning to his former club Chelsea, asking them to brace for a real challenge in UEFA Champions League's knockout stage.

With a mouth-watering 2-0 win over their big opponents, Inter went nine points clear of Rossoneri and took a huge step forward to retain Scudetto for the fifth successive year and although Massimo Moratti is longing for some European success, the win in Derby della Madonnina tastes just as sweet as lifting any trophy for the Italian President.

Inter went down to ten men in the 27^th minute following Wesley Sneijder's sarcastic clap for the referee who a few seconds after his controversial decision against Lucio showed a straight red card to dismiss the Dutch midfielder.

After Sneijder was sent off, Mourinho didn't press the panic button so soon and made no changes in his tactics as Combiasso's responsibilities in the midfield were both to defense and attack.

Inter were playing 4-5-1 in theory, but in fact after Sneijder's dismissal, that was changed to 4-4-1 and at the times when attacking, Goran Pandev was there to help the incredible David Milito who scored the first goal in the 10^th minute after Pandev lofted the ball through beautifully and the Argentine striker planted that in by a first time hit.

Mourinho's men were trying to soak up the pressure and hit their opponents on the break and that's why Inter were denied by woodwork three minutes before Pandev scored their second. The Macedonian striker scored with a memorable free kick, bended the ball over the wall and put it in the top corner in the 65^th minute.

While the referee made some soft and debatable decisions throughout the match, the very last one came in the 92^nd minute as Klaas Jan Huntelaar's volley shot struck Lucio's hands and immediately there was a penalty call for Milan and a red card for the Brazilian defender.

Ronaldinho stepped up to score from the spot kick and make Inter's lead a bit tenuous, but Julio Cesar denied his countryman to convert the penalty in a fantastic style. Milan players were left dumbfounded and the last thing their furious fans needed was an odd way of celebration from Inter's defender Marco Materazzi as he wore a Silvio Berlusconi mask after the final whistle was blown.

After the match, Jose Mourinho lauded his team's performance before accentuating that Inter could have left the pitch empty handed only if they were down to six men.

"We showed everything. The only way we would have lost is if we'd gone down to six," Mourinho said, before adding: "With seven we'd have won the same."

"Inter played a spectacular match from all points of view, tactical, physical, and psychological - an incredible match," Mourinho concluded.

Milan have a match in hand, but even if they win that, there will be a-6 point-gap and Inter can win their Scudetto.

While the win against Milan has thrown Inter fans into ecstasy, let us not forget that from day one Mourinho took the helm, his mission was to bring Champions League to Giuseppe Meazza after 45 years of European Cup drought. Is he capable of doing that? Inter's clash with Chelsea in the mid February will help us find out the answer. Certainly, it will be a real test of character for both sides.