Opposition Focus | Inter | Italian Cup

On stage on Wednesday 11 May in Rome in the Coppa Italia final is the fourth meeting of the season between Juventus and Inter. So far, two defeats and a draw for the Bianconeri, despite the fact that in the two games they lost, Juve demonstrated more in attack than their opponents.

If in the Italian Super Cup the match ended 1-1 over 90 minutes when Juventus had taken the lead after having threatened the rearguard of Simone Inzaghi's team numerous times, it was in the league encounter at the Allianz Stadium, despite losing 1-0 from a penalty converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu, that Massimiliano Allegri's men created more clear-cut scoring chances, putting in serious difficulty the meanest defensive line in the league.

Match domination not reflected in the result. 54% ball possession with 65% territorial advantage, and above all 22 shots to Inter’s five, testify a one-sided contest, with the Bianconeri guilty of spurning their chances once they had overcome the solid Nerazzurri defence, which struggled to cope with both the thrusts from the wings and the combination play down the middle.

Let's review three game situations.

In the first video, two chances for Alvaro Morata. In both cases, the action developed down the right flank. In the first move, Dusan Vlahovic drifted out wide in the Juventus attack and, although the Inter defenders were well positioned in the area, the Serbian still found his co-striker at the far post, but his effort went just wide.

In the following move, Juan Cuadrado dribbled Alessandro Bastoni, made his into the area and delivered a cross in the middle. Morata threw himself at the ball, but his shot was blocked by the Nerazzurri defensive wall.

In the second video, two scoring chances created by Vlahovic. Despite the strength in numbers of Inter's three-man defence in the centre of the area, the Serbian was able to turn and pull the trigger. In the first case after a dummy by Morata, in the second, found through the middle by Adrien Rabiot.

Finally, in the third video, the most glaring chance of the match, which combined some of the same elements as the previous situations. It started with a powerful run through the middle by Denis Zakaria, who took the ball from the centre circle and, after leaving Marcelo Brosovic in his trail, headed for the Nerazzurri penalty area. Milan Škriniar did not step out of the defensive line to close him down, allowing Zakaria to take him on before shooting, only to see his effort rebound off the post.

In the confusion that followed in the Nerazzurri area, Mattia De Sciglio arrived first to the ball and played a cross into the middle from the left, which Vlahovic met but couldn’t keep his header down by a matter of only a few centimetres.

Three different situations, five scoring opportunities. More precision in front of goal and a stroke of luck could determine the difference between the two teams in the match in Rome.