The 248th match against Madonnina was held on May 11th, 2001, at San Siro. The match between Inter and Milan that was to be played on the 30th day of the championship was the most anticipated match in Series A. The two teams arrived at the games separated by just one point: AC Milan with 45 and Inter with 44. However, the championship was really a battle between Rome and Juventus. For the two Milan teams, the 2000-2001 season was one of the darkest seasons in recent history. Milan was still far from the top positions, so team President Silvio Berlusconi was forced to hire a new coach. On March 10th, 2001 Alberto Zaccheroni, the coach of the 16th league champions, was fired and was replaced by Cesare Maldini, the father of the defender, Paul, and the old symbol of the club. Their cousins, the Nerazzurri, weren’t faring any better, having been eliminated in the first qualifying round of the Champions League by Sweden’s Helsingborg, and subsequently beaten the very first day by Reggina. These losses cost coach Marcello Lippi his job. Marco Tardelli, the European champion with the Italy Under-21 Championship in 2000, was brought in to replace him, but he was a rookie coach.

The match was the on game that could save their season. The stadium at San Siro was packed with 80 thousand spectators. Just 2 minutes after the game started, Serginho pushed past Inter defenders like a bowling ball and passed to Comandini who scored against Frey, which marked his first league goal wearing a Milan uniform. Tardelli’s team suffered from the blow, while Maldini’s team was flying with Serginho. The Brazilian was able to pass the ball to Comandini who was able to score off his head in the 19th minute, thus making the score 2-0. Inter was on its knees and Milan was close to a third goal by the end of the first half thanks again to Comandini, the unexpected hero of the evening. This time, Frey was superb. The second half was nearly a repeat of the first. By the 53rd minute there was no glory for Giunti. His harmless free kick from 30 meters surprised Frey. They score was now 3-0. Inter did not even have the strength to react with pride. On the field, there was only one team and its colors were red and black. By the 67th minute, the unstoppable Serginho was able to pass across the box to the onrushing Shevchenko, who jumped higher than Simic and scored, thus making the score 4-0. The crowd cheering for Inter began to file out of the stadium. Eleven minutes went by, when it was Georgian Kaladze this time who broke through on the right side of Inter's defense to cross to centerfielder Shevchenko who made his fifth goal. After 3 assists, Serginho put an end to the match with 9 minutes remaining. The Brazilian was able to slip through Inter’s defense like butter, much to the dismay of Inter’s fans, and scored against Frey for the sixth time. At the whistle of referee Collina, it was time for the Devils to celebrate. For Inter, it was a nightmarish night, the blackest Friday in the team’s history. At 0-6, Inter had made its worst showing ever in the Milan match.