Inter edged out Juventus in the latest edition of the famous Derby d’Italia to get their stuttering Serie A title defence back on track. One of the most controversial matches in the second half of the Serie A season saw the Nerazzurri grab a narrow 1-0 win from the spot.
Juventus dominated possession and showed great ambition to score from the offset, yet a lack of the finishing touch let them down one too many times. Massimiliano Allegri’s side made sure to make the 178th installment of one of the fiercest rivalries on the planet live up to its top billing, but to no avail.
Despite the home side’s relentless attempts to get on the scoresheet and claim what would be a precious three points, Inter took the lead on the stroke of half-time. Although referee Massimiliano Irrati waved play on when Denzel Dumfries was tackled down inside Juve’s penalty area, he changed his initial call after consulting with the side-pitch monitor.
Ex-Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu took the responsibility from the spot only to see Wojciech Szczesny thwart his attempt, breaking the roof at the Allianz Stadium. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the penalty was re-taken due to encroachment and the Turkish star made no mistake at the second time of asking.
Little did anyone in Turin know that Calhanoglu’s goal would make the difference between the sides at full-time.
However, Juventus failed to capitalise on several promising opportunities after the break, with Denis Zakaria coming closest to levelling the score. The midfielder dribbled past a couple of Inter players and unleashed a devastating effort from the edge of the box, which struck the far post.
Despite losing, Allegri praised Juventus’ performance, naming Inter as the leading candidates to lift the Serie A title this season.
“I am happy to talk about the performance. It was a good game from my team, we played well, had lots of shots on target, it’s a pity about the defeat,” he told DAZN, as quoted by TUTTOmercatoWEB.
“It was a good Juventus, this team is improving, we had more vertical passes, found the strikers better and did well on a technical level.
“You just have to look at the fixture list to know Inter are the favourites. They got an important win here, they have a game in hand, this was a confidence-booster and yes after tonight’s match they are the favourites.“