Inter Milan and Juventus played out an authentic clash of giants this Sunday at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. The two best sides thus far in the Serie A delivered a thrilling encounter that was decided in the final minutes, as The Old Lady moved into the top spot of the standings. Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuaín scored for Juventus, while Lautaro Martinez did it for Inter Milan.
The match started with a decent degree of intensity and the visitors only needed four minutes to score the opener. A long ball from Miralem Pjanic found Dybala, and the Argentina international drilled a shot past Samir Handanovic despite the tight marking from Milan Skriniar.
Inter didn’t rattle and equalized in the 18th minute when Martinez drilled a penalty following a handball from Matthijs de Ligt. There were two more incidents worth highlighting in the first half, though. Star playmaker Stefano Sensi suffered an injury, and that hurt Inter’s chances of posing a threat in the final meters. Sensi has been one of the best players in the Serie A so far, and he offers a great deal of creativity in midfield for the Neroazzurri.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Juventus on top just before the break. However, his goal was ruled out due to an offside position and as a result, the first half ended with a 1-1 draw. Although Juventus were on top given how things happened at the break.
Higuain saves the day for The Old Lady
The second half was tighter and there were not many chances on either end of the pitch. Dybala came close to double his tally with a shot from inside the box, but Handanovic reacted well to the attempt. It seemed as if the game was going to end with a 1-1 draw, but Higuain had other plans.
The former Argentina international, who entered the game in the 62nd minute replacing Federico Bernardeschi, found acres of space inside the box on the lone chance he had. Then defeated Handanovic with a composed finish following an assist from Rodrigo Betancur. Inter tried to equalize and had the best chance when Matias Vecino attempted to score, but Wojciech Szczesny came through in the clutch to save the day for Juventus.
With the win, Juventus remain undefeated in league play and moved to the top spot with 19 points (W6, D1). Meanwhile, Inter descended to second play with 18 points (W6, L1). They are also on a two-game losing run across all competitions. It seems the international break couldn’t have come at a better time for Antonio Conte’s men.
Match Report
Inter Milan: Handanovic; Godin (Bastoni, 54’), de Vrij, Skriniar; D’Ambrosio, Barella, Brozovic, Sensi (Vecino, 33’), Asamoah; Lukaku, Martinez (Politano, 77’)
Juventus: Szczesny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, de Ligt, Alex Sandro; Khedira (Betancur, 61’), Pjanic, Matuidi; Bernardeschi (Higuain, 62’); Dybala (Can, 71’), Cristiano Ronaldo
Goals: Dybala (0-1, 4’), Martinez (1-1, 18’), Higuain (1-2, 80’)
Yellow Cards: Vecino, Barella (INT); Alex Sandro, Can, Pjanic (JUV)
Red Cards: None
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