Juventus and Inter disappoint in Derby d'Italia draw

Derby d'Italia could change the order on the Serie A table. Juventus hosted Inter in Turin and, with a victory, could have moved to the top of the table, pushing Nerazzurri to second place. But that victory never came. Inter, as the most serious candidate for the title and an in-form team, could have extended the difference between their closest rival, Juve, by five points with a win tonight. But that victory never came. Both teams played a boring match, which was somehow expected considering the teams’ coaches and their style of play. Juve scored one goal (as they usually do) from the only shot on target in 90 minutes, while Inter showed their strength but also showed to others that they are not as strong and invincible as they should be, considering the players they have.

There was little excitement tonight at Allianz stadium. Two goals, one proper chance and one controversy, which was not spotted by the referee, or the VAR room. Prior to Inter’s equalizer, Mateo Darmian fouled Federico Chiesa, but nobody noticed that and Lautaro’s goal, which basically decided this match, was accepted.

Contrary to all expectations from those two teams, we saw two goals in the first 45 minutes. Dušan Vlahović caused an eruption at the stadium with an opening goal in the 27th minute. Chiesa did all the ‘dirty work’ down the left side and sent a fantastic ball to the Serbian striker, who finished brilliantly into the bottom corner with this right, weaker foot. It was Vlahović’s only fifth goal this season, as the former Fiorentina forward was often injured, and coach Allegri’s tactics is also not suiting him much. Before the goal, Chiesa had an excellent (and only) chance in the first half, but his shot ended well over the bar. Then, it was time for Lautaro Martinez to equalize with a similar goal. It was almost the same goal as Vlahović’s, just on the opposite side. Thuram went through the right side, and his cross was easily turned into goal by Inter’s captain.

And while the first half was surprisingly interesting, with two goals and a couple of chances, the second half was more suitable for these two teams – tactical and with few (half) chances and no goals. The only exciting moment of the match was Juan Cuadrado’s entrance on the pitch. The Colombian winger played six years for Juventus (166 games, 14 goals) but signed for rivals Inter as a free agent this season, and for that, he was loudly booed by the home crowd. Inter remains first at the table and will play in Portugal against Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Juve will have a whole week to prepare for a trip to Monza.

SERIE A - Matchday 13

Saturday

Salernitana - Lazio 2-1 (0-1)

/Kastanos 55, Canderva 66 - Immobile 43 pen/

Atalanta - Napoli 1-2 (0-1)

/Lookman 53 - Kvaratskhelia 44, Elmas 79/

Milan - Fiorentina 1-0 (0-0)

Sunday

Cagliari - Monza 1-1 (1-0)

/Dossena 10 - Maric 61/

Empoli - Sassuolo 3-4 (2-2)

/Caputo 4, Fazzini 30, Vina (og) - Pinamonti 12, Henrique 22, Berardi 66, 90+2/

Frosinone - Genoa 2-1 (1-1)

/Soule 34 , Monterisi 90+4 - Malinoviskyi 38)

Roma - Udinese 3-1 (1-0)

/ Mancini 20, Dybala 81, El Shaarawy 90/

Juventus - Inter 1-1 (1-1)

/Vlahovic 27 - Lautaro 33/

Monday

20.30: (2.78) Verona (3.00) Lecce (2.90)

22.45: (2.37) Bologna (3.20) Torino (3.30)

***odds are subject to change