Both teams missed chances as The Nerazzurri and The Bianconeri played out a goalless draw after over eleven years in the Derby’d Italia. The match was expected to be a heated affair following the new wiretap evidence in the second Calciopoli trial but it did not live up to expectations.
The match was imperative for the current Serie A campaign, as Inter needed a victory to stay joint-top with Lazio, while Juventus risked sinking to the bottom-half of the table. The clash however turned out to be a tactical battle between two think-tanks and, as often happens, the tactical battle translated into a mediocre performance on the pitch by the two sets of players.
Inter started the game with Eto’o being given his position of his choice over Diego Milito, with the latter being benched. Juventus, on the other hand, preferred Aquilani and Quagliarella over Pepe and Del Piero. Inter started nicely and Coutinho almost put Sneijder in within the first couple of minutes. This indicated Inter’s intent and soon enough, Eto’o skipped past the defenders into the box down the left-side but Giorgio Chiellini managed to close down the shot. Juventus keeper Marco Storari dropped the resulting corner, but was able to scramble it back into his arms.
For the first quarter of the game, Inter looked comfortable and controlled possession. However, the tables turned in the second quarter and Del Niri’s men started to bother the Nerazzurri. Mid-way through the first half, Milos Krasic’s shot from distance drilled just wide of Cesar’s goal. Later, Juventus went even closer as the blonde Serb flashed a ball across the face of goal. Julio Cesar got his elbow to it, just enough to take it away from Iaquinta at the back post.
Milos Krasic looked the most dangerous Juventus player on the field as he constantly outwitted Chivu on the flank. The whole of Turin thought they had taken the lead just after the half hour mark, but Iaquinta was rightly judged to be in an offside position when he tapped in a low cross from Krasic. Amidst all the Juventus attacks, Inter’s Jonathan Biabiany picked up a knock and had to limp off, to be replaced by Milito. This meant Eto’o moved into the wide left role with Coutinho on the right. On the stroke of half-time, Eto’o curled a wonderful cross to the far post for Milito, who shot wide from point blank at full stretch.
Both sides made half-time substitutions: Davide Santon replaced Ivan Cordoba for Inter, and Marco Motta came in place of Paolo De Ceglie for Juve.
Within two minutes of the kick-off for the second half, Inter got another golden opportunity as Coutinho burst into the box on Sneijder’s diagonal pass, but Grygera kept his cool to charge down the shot for a corner. Juve countered the corner with Quagliarella trying a surprise shot on goal from 30 meters out, which was easily saved by Julio Cesar.
Post-half time period proved to be the most entertaining as both Juventus and Inter pressed hard for a goal. Krasic and Eto’o showed why they were declared to be the players to look out for as both created chances for their teams but without any success. Five minutes before the hour mark, Eto’o led a one-man counter attack that mocked the whole Juventus defense, but his cross was finally put out for a corner. Three Minutes later, it was Krasic’s turn to go on a crazy run of his own. He went past a series of Inter players, but his spectacular shot was beaten away at the near post by Julio Cesar.
Moments later, Alessandro del Piero replaced Iaquinta. He was one short of Juventus’s record for goals scored in Serie A, which is in the name of Giampiero Boniperti with 178 goals. Inter got another golden chance as Sneijder’s free kick was whipped in for Maicon’s header, but Storari was able to smother the ball after a small fumble as Lucio came diving in. Juventus had a fantastic chance with twenty minutes to go, when Stankovic slipped in midfield, and Claudio Marchisio rushed through to send Quagliarella clear on goal. However, he was well covered by Lucio and the shot was fingertipped away by Julio Cesar.
As the game progressed into its final quarter, both teams looked to be playing for a draw except for one man, Alessandro Del Piero, who kept swinging in the pursuit of his record-equaling goal. He tried a few long range shots but could not beat Julio Cesar. The tempo of the game got considerably slow in the dying moments as both teams settled for a draw.
There is a clear gap between the overall level of Inter and most other teams in Serie A. No Bianconeri expects the gap between Inter and Juventus to reduce in, at least, the next couple of seasons. That said, today’s Juventus certainly has the ability to take a game to any opponent and overwhelm them vis-à-vis limiting their time and space on the ball with loads of energy, and playing with a certain level of physicality. As Luigi Del Niri aptly puts it, “We make the opponents play badly” and that’s exactly what his team did to Inter today.
TheHardTackle’s Player Of The Match:
Milos Krasic(Juventus)
He was sensational in his runs down the flank and won the battle with Chivu to give Juve lots of chances to score. He almost led the bianconeri ahead with his two lethal strikes that were turned down by Julio Cesar and a goal declared offside on his crisp low cross.
TheHardTackle’s Referee Report Card
Name: Banti
Grade: A
The referee had a very good game, ensuring fair decisions for both the side.
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Match Statistics
Internazionale 0-0 Juventus
Venue: Giuseppe Meazza
Attendance: 60,000
Internazionale: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Cordoba (Santon 46), Chivu; Stankovic, Cambiasso; Biabiany (Milito 30), Sneijder, Coutinho; Eto’o
Manager: Rafa Benitez
Juventus: Storari; Grygera, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Ceglie (Motta 46); Krasic, Felipe Melo, Aquilani (Sissoko 80), Marchisio; Iaquinta (Del Piero 64), Quagliarella
Manager: Luigi Del Niri
Match Highlights:
