There was plenty at stake in this season’s first edition of the Derby D’Italia within match-week 13 of the Serie A as a win was crucial for both Juventus and Inter in order to keep their title hopes alive after their poor starts to this year’s campaign. It was a clash of Inzaghi’s fluid in-possession style of play versus Allegri’s defensive-counter attacking philosophy. Despite both high-stature managers possessing squads that were arguably the favourites to win it all, both tacticians’ futures were under scrutiny as a result of a lack of consistency within their displays. With the lights glistening brightly at the Allianz this evening, Juventus managed to obtain a 2-0 victory over Inter, immersing the nation in black and white.
Within the opening minutes of the highly anticipated fixture, Inter established their dominance on Turin soil, dictating the game offensively through their fluid build-up in possession.
A ecstatic diagonal ball from Slovakian international Milan Skriniar found Federico Dimarco along the flanks. The 23 year-old burst with pace, but his attempt on goal deflected off of his teammate Edin Dzeko.
Another Nerazzurri occasion appeared under five minutes as a deflected cross off a Juventus defender landed on Lautaro Martinez’s foot. The Argentine pulled the trigger, but his wicked shot from close-range went wide.
Inzaghi’s side sustained their flare and intensity throughout the first ten minutes at the Allianz as they caused trouble through their passing combinations through the middle and out-wide, as well as they excellent recovery of the ball when in defensive transition.
After a nervy start from the Bianconeri, Allegri’s side found their stride as they circulated the ball around the pitch when in-possession, trying to create an opening within Inter’s low-block defensive shape.
In the 18th minute, a well-weighted cross from wing-back Filip Kostic found Gleison Bremer as he performed an acrobatic manoeuvre in order to get his foot on the ball. Despite his great efforts, the Brazilian central defender’s audacious attempt went wide of the target.
Shortly after, a head-flick from Martinez off a corner delivered by Dimarco found Edin Dzeko in the center of the box. The 36 year-old striker connected with a header, but his goal-scoring occasion missed by very thin margins.
Inter kept pushing forward within the final third through their offensive movements, but Allegri’s back-line remained compact as Danilo avoided any threat through his impeccable physicality and tactical awareness.
Towards the latter stages, Henrikh Mkhitatryan launched a mesmirizng through-ball to find Barella out-wide. The Italian central play-maker played an excellent one-touch pass to square it off to Denzel Dumfries, but the Dutchman’s shot went over the bar. As a result, Inzaghi was forced to settle with a scoreless half despite having more goal-scoring chances.
After the break, Juventus set the tone with a quickfire cross from Cuadrado that was well-handled by Andre Onana.
Inter responded immediately as Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu fired a rocket towards the direction of goal, but the Juventus shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny finger-tipped the riffle over the bar for a corner.
Following a well-cleared corner from the Juventus defence, Barella was caught sleeping as Kostic nudged him and won the ball, enabling him to burst with pace on the counter. The Serbian international laid it off for Adrien Rabio, who tucked it into the low-corner past Onana to obtain the opener in the 52nd minute within the vital fixture.
After firing one in-behind Inter’s net, the Old Lazy showed no signs of slowing down as Kostic distributed a marvellous corner to find Danilo. The 31 year-old center-back connected with awkward strike and found enough flight to beat Onana. However, VAR disallowed the goal as it came of his hand before entering the goal, providing Inter with some hope to get back into the match.
However, the Bianconeri kept piling on the pressure as Kostic fired a quick release from the left-hand side. Onana lunged to the side in order to prevent the powerful strike from entering into the net, managing to get a fingertip on the ball in order for it to hit off the post.
In the 84th minute, a well-timed sliding challenge enabled Allegri’s side on the counter. Possessing more numbers than La Benemata on the break allowed Kostic to soar along the flanks with much ease. The Serbian weaved through his markers and pulled the ball back with an outside of the foot pass for Nicolo Fagioli towards the edge of the box. The promising midfielder’s strike deflected off of Robin Gosens and went past Onana, doubling his side’s advantage at the Allianz.
Despite Inzaghi making three substitutions in the last ten minutes of the fixture in order to potentially obtain an equalizer that would ignite a spark of hope within his side, it was Juventus that sealed all three points within their home-stomping ground.
With Juventus extending their fine run of form to four-consecutive victories within the Serie A, the Bianconeri have climbed into fifth with a total of 25 points, two points short of a spot within the top four. Meanwhile, Inter have yet attained a single point from any of the big six within the Serie A thus far, causing them to tumble into seventh, three points adrift from the top-four.
