06 November 2022
A first half on a razor's edge. A second half dominated by the Bianconeri. Juve defeated Inter 2-0 to triumph in the Derby d'Italia and climb into the top six in the table.
THE MATCH
The 179th Serie A showdown between Juve and Inter saw both teams enjoying a recent upturn in league form. Bremer returned from injury to team up in an all-Brazilian back-three which was first tested by Argentine Lautaro Martinez, who slammed his shot wide on five minutes.
The ebb and flow of the game saw both midfields take and lose the ascendancy as tackles flew in among the tight marking and tactical counter-moves.
On 19 minutes Bremer decided to give Juve another body in attack as he intercepted in midfield and continued his charge forward, all the way to reaching Filip Kostić’s cross but his close-range volley hit the side netting.
A cross from a corner at the other end almost produced the game’s first goal. Lautaro’s flick picked out Edin Dzeko unmarked inside the six-yard penalty area but the striker placed his header wide. There was to be another close shave for the Bianconeri when Denzel Dumfries turned his shot over the bar, again inside the six-yard box, sliding in on a Nicolò Barrella cross.
In between those two chances for Inter, Kostić tried his luck from distance but his shot sailed over the crossbar.
Nil-nil at the break, but the Derby d’Italia seldom finished goalless at the 90th minute.
The first chance after the interval produced a world-class save from Wojciech Szczęsny, who finger-tipped a fierce Hakan Çalhanoglu drive over the crossbar. The game was swinging from one end to the other and it was from a coast-to-coast run that the deadlock was broken.
On 52’ Kostić spun away from Nicolò Barell inside his own half then set off on a lung-bursting run to the Inter penalty area where he picked out Adrien Rabiot. The midfielder hit a first time shot that nestled into the far corner. Juve had the lead.
11 minutes later the Allianz Stadium erupted in joy for a second time when Danilo met a Kostić corner on the volley to steer home what seemed the Bianconeri’s second goal. Instead, VAR informed the match official that the Juve captain had used his hand. Goal disallowed and the scoreline remained 1-0.
With a quarter of an hour remaining, both sides had chances. First Szczęsny blocked a Martinez shot with his legs after the Inter striker had been played through on goal. Juve broke up the field and when Fagioli swept the ball into the path of Kostić, the winger appeared to have done everything right - however, his shot rebounded off the base of the far post.
The hosts continued to look the more dangerous of the two sides and wrapped up the points with five minutes to play. Nicolò Fagioli completed a week he’ll never forget, when he finished off a move down the left with a shot that spun past André Onana in the Inter goal.
Juve collected a fourth win on the spin, all achieved without conceding a goal, by halting an Inter side that had scored in all their previous 24 league matches.
In one fell swoop the Bianconeri leapt over the historic rivals and climbed into equal fifth place in the Serie A table.
JUVENTUS 2-0 INTER (HT: 0-0)
Scorers: 52′ Rabiot (J), 84′ Fagioli (J).
JUVENTUS: Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Miretti (80′ Di Maria); Milik (72′ Chiesa). Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Perin, Gatti, Bonucci, Rugani, Soulé. Coach: Allegri.
INTER: Onana; Skriniar (81′ Darmian), De Vrij, Acerbi; Dumfries (81′ Bellanova), Barella, Calhanoglu (73′ Correa), Mkhitaryan (81′ Brozovic), Dimarco (73′ Gosens); Dzeko, Lautaro. Subs not used: Handanovic, Cordaz, Gagliardini, Asllani, D’Ambrosio, Carboni, Bastoni. Coach: Inzaghi.
Referee: Doveri.
BOOKINGS: 56′ Calhanoglu, 68′ Skriniar, 76′ Danilo.
