03 April 2022
The Derby d'Italia is never a match for the faint hearted and a total of 15 minutes of time added on, a record 10 minutes in the first half, indicates that Juventus and Inter held nothing back in front of a full house inside the Allianz Stadium. Juve trailed at half time despite having the better of the opening half. Hakan Calhanoglu's retaken penalty proved to be the only goal of the game. Denise Zakaria struck the post as the Bianconeri pressed for an equaliser which didn't arrive.
A ROLLER COASTER RIDE
With Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata joined by Juan Cuadrado behind Dusan Vlahovic in the Juventus attack it came as no surprise that it was the Bianconeri that made the running and created the early chances. With less than a minute on the clock, Vlahovic tested Samir Handanovic with a shot low to the goalkeeper's near post.
The next action brought the first stop of the game. Lautaro Martinez caught Manuel Locatelli on the forehead with a raised boot, leading to yellow card for the Inter strike and a bandaged head for the Juve midfielder. Locatelli would eventually leave the pitch on 35 minutes with a muscle injury. Denis Zakaria replaced the number 27.The action never let up. As soon as play resumed, Morata headed over before a goalmouth scramble almost led to a Juve advantage. Handanovic punched an attempted clearance high into the night sky, and when the ball fell it broke to Giorgio Chiellini, whose touch inside the six yard box somehow bounced back off the crossbar. Dybala had a couple of shots from distance, Morata placed a header tantalisingly across the face of the goal as Juve accumulated 14 attempts on goal in the first half but somehow found themselves trailing at half time.
In stoppages, Denzel Dumfries was tripped inside the penalty area. After consulting the VAR, the referee awarded the Nerazzurri a penalty. Wojciech Szczesny blocked the midfielder's initial effort, before the ball bounced into the net from the rebound. The match official, again after intervention from VAR, indicated that the penalty was to be retaken because of encroachment, principally by Matthijs De Ligt.
At the second time of asking, despite Szczesny guessing correctly, Calhanoglu found the bottom corner.
The first half finished as it had begun, with Vlahovic flashing a shot on the Inter goal.
FRUSTRATION PREVAILS
Vlahovic, also, created the first chance of the second half. A sharp turn inside the penalty area finally saw him shake off his marker, but the striker's shot flashed just wide of the post.
Four minutes later, Morata also had an attempt that went close as Juve dominated possession after the break, but like in the first half, it was the frame of the goal that stood between Juve scoring.
After Chiellini in the first half, it was Zakaria who saw his shot rebound off the woodwork. The midfielder powered past the Inter midfield and unleashed his shot on reaching the penalty area. With Handanovic beaten, the ball cannoned off the post. Juventus continued to press for the equaliser but Inter were throwing bodies behind the ball and blocking attempt after attempt. Despite the pressure, the two attempts off the woodwork, and the chances created, it wasn't to be as Inter held on to their slender advantage to the final whistle.
JUVENTUS 0-1 INTER (HT: 0-1)
SCORER: 45+5' Calhanoglu (I)
JUVENTUS
Szczęsny; Danilo, de Ligt, Chiellini, Alex Sandro (72' De Sciglio); Locatelli (34' Zakaria), Rabiot (83' Arthur); Cuadrado (83' Bernardeschi), Dybala, Morata (72' Kean); Vlahovic.
Subs not used: Perin, Pinsoglio, Bonucci, Rugani.
Coach: Allegri
INTER
Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, Skriniar, Bastoni; Dumfries (58' Darmian), Barella, Brozovic (77' Gagliardini), Calhanoglu (77' Vidal), Perisic; Dzeko (90' Gosens), Martinez (58' Correa).
Subs not used:Radu, de Vrij, Sanchez, Vecino, Ranocchia, Dimarco, Caicedo.
Coach: Inzaghi
REFEREE: Irrati
ASSISTANTS: Ranghetti, Vivenzi
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Ghersini
VAR: Mazzoleni, Passeri
BOOKINGS: 2' Martinez (I), 15' Rabiot (J), 27' Locatelli (J), 4+1' Morata (J), 45+4' Cuadrado (J, )45+4' Skriniar (I), 74' Perisic (I), 75' Calhanoglu (I)
