Juventus vs Inter 1-1: The Derby d’Italia Lasted Only Forty-Five Minutes

The much-awaited Derby d’Italia ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the Allianz Stadium as Juventus and Inter hit the scoresheet in the first half before cancelling each other for the remaining 45 minutes. Dusan Vlahovic put the Nerazzurri ahead, but Lautaro Martinez soon drew level for Simone Inzaghi’s side.

And so, the only ones to take advantage of this Serie A six pointer that did not quite live up to the hype were Milan and Napoli, who both reduced their gap from the top two teams in the table by two points.

Massimilano Allegri surprised all pundits by deploying the young Hans Nicolussi Caviglia at midfield and relying on the trusted partnership between Federico Chiesa and Vlahovic upfront. Inzaghi replied with his usual 3-5-2 setup featuring the by now famous ThuLa (Marcus Thuram + Lautaro Martinez) on the front line.

The result was a vibrant first half that saw both sides attack with no fear, even though no real shots on target were recorded until Juve opened the scoring on 27 minutes. It was not for lack of trying, though. Thuram and Lautaro Martinez both tested Wojciech Szczesny but their header attempts were easily blocked by the Polish goalie.

For Juventus, Chiesa had a massive chance on 15 minutes as he received the ball in the middle of the box but sent his shot crashing into the stands of the Allianz Stadium. He would soon have the opportunity to redeem himself.

Indeed, Juventus opened the scoring as their two front-line stars cooperated to set the match on fire. Vlahovic recovered the ball at midfield and followed Chiesa’s progression along the left flank after serving his former partner at Fiorentina. Chiesa returned the courtesy with a sharp pass in the middle of the box, which Vlahovic turned into the hosts’ opener with a clinical right foot conclusion.

But the Bianconeri’s delusion lasted only six minutes as Lautaro Martinez promptly repaid them with the same coin, anticipating Federico Gatti to slot the ball home from a Thuram pass. That came at the end of a brilliant team effort on the Nerazzurri’s part and was the 13^th league goal for El Toro, whose claim to the capocannoniere title is getting stronger and stronger.

It was the last real chance in the match though. While the first half had been an entertaining affair, the second period turned into a nervous stalemate in which neither goalkeeper was tested anymore. Both coaches tried to reshuffle their cards late in the game as Max Allegri changed his whole offensive package, with Moise Kean and Arek Milik replacing Vlahovic and Chiesa on 80 minutes.

Simone Inzaghi, on the other hand introduced Marko Arnautovic for Thuram with three minutes to go. Earlier in the second half, he had substituted both his wingbacks as Carlos Augusto and Juan Caudrado took Federico Dimarco and Denzel Dumfries’ places.

None of these moves had any effect though, and so the only event that broke the routine in the second period came when Cuadrado set foot on the pitch and received a loud and nasty welcome from his former Juventus fans.

Inter preserved their two-point lead over the Bianconeri, with Milan and Napoli now trailing by six and eight points respectively. All in all, the Derby d’Italia left things unchanged and failed to provide any additional indications to decipher the Scudetto race.  

 

MATCH SCORECARD

November 26, 2023 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 13
JUVENTUS – INTER 1-1

SCORERS: 27′ Vlahovic (J), 33′ Lautaro Martinez (I)