Inter were beaten 3-0 by Juventus at the Juventus Stadium in Turin thanks to a brace from Alvaro Morata and a goal from Paolo Dybala. With respect to both teams, they understood that the game on the night was not necessarily where the game would be decided, with both the Biaconeri and Nerazzurri fielding somewhat weakened sides.
However, with that being said, the warning signs were there in the first half as the home side were allowed to dominate possession and probe at will. It was obvious that Inter had come to try and put themselves in a position where they could win the second leg and advance to the final from there.
As a consequence, it was very difficult to see any other outcome than a Juve win, and they started the game by far the better side, moving the ball wide with Asamoah and Cuadrado. Inter somehow found a way to deal with it early on, thanks to the back-tracking of Biabiany.
Before the quarter-hour mark the referee appeared to miss a penalty shout as Cuadrado’s free-kick hit the arm of Gary Medel. However, the appeals were waived away and the visitors walked away unscathed. Then, the game became aggressive and somewhat scrappy; something which suited the visitors as they looked for parity in a game that they were perhaps not expecting to win.
A challenge from Bonucci raised the tensions slightly and didn’t help the friendliness of the occasion as the rivals clashed. It must be said that there was little question about the opening goal, which came ten minutes before the break as Cuadrado was brought down by Jeison Murillo. An unfortunate moment of misjudgement for the visitors, who to that point had been resolute.
Alvaro Morata crashed his penalty into the top corner, and one sort of got the impression that the night may start to unravel for Inter.
It was the Spaniard’s first goal in four months, and on the hour mark he struck again to make the tie even more difficult for Inter. Ezra’s cross deflected off Melo, who in fairness couldn’t have done more to block the dangerous situation, but it fell to Morata who finished again into the top corner.
The misery was compounded as Murillo was sent off with 20 minutes left. The centre-back bodychecked Cuadrado who was by far the best player on the night, and the referee was right to produce the red.
The final goal was scored by Paolo Dybala to make it 3-0 as he sent a third goal into the top corner past a sorry Samir Handanovic, who should have done better, which may kill the tie off. Inter’s biggest enemy on the night was naivety.
The back four never committed to any thwarting of the attacks, and as aforementioned the idea of sitting back for first leg parity was far from ideal. Juventus exploited the flanks well through Evra and Cuadrado, damaging the weak points of the Nerazzurri squad which are the full backs.
Allegri’s side clearly knew what to do and they reaped the reward for an effective game plan that any team could have come up with. For Inter, it is very obvious that the full back combination of Yuto Nagatomo and Danilo D’Ambrosio was not enough. In a way, the black-and-whites played the bluff by fielding a somewhat strong side. If Inter were serious about making the final, they should have considered this.
A front three of Ljajic, Jovetic and Biabiany was arguably not going to cause much threat to such a resolute defence, and the full price was paid for a poor performance in an otherwise great situation. The damage is done, though. Murillo is suspended, there was no away goal and Juve bring a three goal lead to San Siro. The cup run is over.
A very disappointing night in Turin, and the focus turns to the Serie A and the objectives of a European place.
