The ending was ugly to say the least. Once again, Inter have failed to beat Juventus at the San Siro since the treble winning season. If the team took their chances in the first half, the outcome could have been completely different.
Inter went into the match on the back of a 7 match unbeaten run, and a massive victory away at the Stadio Olimpico against Lazio. The Bianconeri advanced to the Champions League final after drawing against Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-finals. Juventus rotated the starting 11 after the match in Madrid. Romulo, Alessandro Matri, Simone Padoin, and Marco Storari all started after spending the majority of the season on the bench. Inter had to cope without Hernanes (suspension), and Fredy Guarin (injured), so Marcelo Brozovic and Xherdan Shaqiri filled the midfield void. The Derby D’Italia was Inter’s to play for, as the Nerazzurri were still in contention for a Europa League place.
Inter started the match very brightly. Juan Jesus was venturing down the left flank time and time again. In the second minute, Icardi stung Storari’s palms with a powerful strike. Juventus came out flat, and Kovacic helped boss the midfield and keep possession. Xherdan Shaqiri was full of energy, but rushed the play far too often.
The breakthrough came on 9 minutes, when Icardi deflected Marcelo Brozovic’s shot with his chest into the back of the net. It was the Argentine’s 6th goal against the Bianconeri. Inter held a high line, which was very risky knowing the very low pace of the center backs Ranocchia and Vidic.
Alvaro Morata was Juve’s main threat in the first half, and on 23 minutes, the Spaniard forced Handanovic into a good save at the near post. Two minutes later, Palacio had a golden opportunity to score after a miscommunication between the Juventus defense. However, the Argentine’s powerful shot was right at the goalkeeper. Inter continued to move the ball around nicely, but the crosses delivered into the box were not of a high quality.
In the 39th minute, the Nerazzurri should have taken the lead. Shaqiri’s fantastic lob struck the upright, and the rebound was fired home by Brozovic. The linesman raised his flag for offside, but video replays showed that the Croatian international was in fact onside. Inter’s high line really came back to bite them in the 41st minute, when Matri broke away from Vidic, and the Serbian fouled the on loan Milan striker in the box. The challenge was completely unnecessary because Matri seemed to lose his balance at the vital moment. The penalty was awarded, and Marchisio sent Handanovic the wrong way to level the match.
Inter played very well for the opening 40 minutes. The posession football and wing play seemed to work to great effect. Kovacic was looking confident, and played the ball simply as opposed to always looking for Icardi’s runs. Inter should have been more than 1-0 up before Juventus equalized. Vidic was lucky to stay on the pitch. It is not often when the ref does not send off the last man after he commits a foul. The midfield had plenty of gaps that Juventus really did not exploit to good effect. The second half was perfectly set up for a thriller.
Juventus came out of the blocks in the second half. Alvaro Morata missed two absolute sitters in the opening two minutes, with one being a header from point blank range. The tempo of the match really slowed down, and Juventus seemed happy to leave Milan with a point. The Bianconeri kept possession and moved the ball a lot better than they did in the first half.
On 71 minutes, D’Ambrosio nearly scored a fantastic volley after being picked out by Kovacic on the run. The fullback’s effort was inches wide of the post. Inter made their first substitution by bringing on Nagatomo for Shaqiri in the 72nd minute, and Inter changed formation to a back three. This was a very odd decision because Inter needed 3 points from this match, and bringing on a fullback for an attacker seemed to go against the very objective of winning.
On 82 minutes, Icardi had a free header from 7 yards out, but the Argentine did not get set up for a crack at goal, and the chance was wasted. The defining moment of the match came 2 minutes later, when Morata’s effort fooled Handanovic and handed Juve the lead. This was an uncharacteristic mistake from the Slovenian, who looked shaky on a couple of occasions in the match.
Podolski was brought on for Brozovic, and Inter immediately had a great chance when Palacio turned passed Bonnuci, forcing Storari into a diving save. Icardi’s follow up was denied by the Juventus reserve goalkeeper, as the Bianconeri held on for three points. //
This Derby D’Italia was quite deflating from an Inter perspective. Inter lost their way in the second half, and Juventus took advantage of that. The substitutions were quite bizarre as well. Handanovic can be blamed for letting in Morata’s soft strike, but the Slovenian has saved Inter on a number of occasions this season, and his contribution must not be forgotten. It was an off day for the former Udinese goalkeeper.
Mauro Icardi should have scored on more than one occasion tonight, and Palacio spurned a couple of great chances as well. Overall, it was a disappointing match, and Inter seem to be out of the Europa League race now.
The positives were Kovacic’s performance, and Palacio’s running. The decision to play a high line in the first half really costed Inter. Ranocchia and Vidic lack pace, and the footrace between Vidic and Matri was like seeing a snail against a turtle. Inter must solve the lack of pace in the center of defense this summer.
