MILAN – Inter were held to a 0-0 draw by Juventus tonight in a pulsating contest at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The Nerazzurri dominated the first half and had a number of chances to take the lead throughout the match, but some great defending from both sides saw the two teams share the spoils in this season’s first Derby d’Italia.
San Siro was a sell-out for the match, registering a new Serie A record for gate receipts, and the stadium was looking resplendent in Inter black and blue as the Nerazzurri faithful whipped up the atmosphere before kick-off.
There followed a breathless start, with four players going into the referee’s book before the 15-minute mark. Cuadrado stung Handanovic’s palms with the first chance of the match, before Jovetic looked for goal twice from free-kicks to no avail. On 19 minutes, Zaza looked to burst into the Inter area, but Murillo stood firm to avert the danger.
Six minutes later and Murillo was involved at the other end, slipping in Jovetic with a sumptuous pass only for Chiellini and Buffon to snaffle the Montenegrin’s effort. The chance saw the Nerazzurri begin to work up through the gears, and Brozovic drew gasps from the stands as he forced a fingertip save from Buffon, who still needed the crossbar to help keep out the Croatian’s spectacular curling effort.
Defence would get the better of attack in the closing stages of the first 45, as first Icardi lost a one-on-one tussle with Barzagli and then the imperious Murillo shut down Zaza when the Italian looked well-placed to score. The referee brought the first half to a close without any added time at all, and the players headed into the bowels of San Siro to catch their breath.
Juventus had the first chance after the break, as Morata slid in Cuadrado only for Handanovic to make himself big to deflect the Colombian’s low shot behind for a corner. As the Bianconeri looked to keep the pressure on Inter at the start of the second half, Roberto Mancini’s side were a constant threat on the counter: Icardi picked Bonucci’s pocket in the centre circle and exchanged passes with Jovetic to steam into the area, but Chiellini was alert to the threat.
On 58 minutes, Jovetic drew a smart save from Buffon with a fierce effort from distance, while Pogba had a crack of his own minutes later that Handanovic was able to gather with ease. Juventus had their best chance of the match in the 68th minute, as Morata teed up Khedira in a clear scoring position. The German, perhaps looking for precision over power, side-footed the ball against the post and away from danger.
Inter rallied through Jovetic and Icardi, who worked a whipped cross into Perisic in the box only for Barzagli to stick his neck out and skim the ball away from the Croat’s head. The Nerazzurri had two good chances to take the lead from free-kicks, but neither Jovetic nor Perisic could hit the target. And though Inter seemed to be better-placed to get the win, Juventus were still crackling away down the other end as Cuadrado jinked his way through the Nerazzurri defence to win a corner.
With time ticking on, Mancini sent on Palacio and Kondogbia to freshen Inter’s legs, but there was to be no winner and both sides were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw. The result sees Inter move up to 17 points in the Serie A table, on equal footing with Roma and one point behind leaders Fiorentina. Next up for the Nerazzurri is a trip to Palermo on Saturday 24 October at 20:45.
INTER 0-0 JUVENTUS (HT: 0-0)
INTER: 1 Handanovic; 21 Santon, 25 Miranda, 24 Murillo, 5 Jesus; 17 Medel (Kondogbia 90), 83 Melo (Guarin 63), 77 Brozovic; 44 Perisic, 10 Jovetic (Palacio 90), 9 Icardi.
Subs not used: 30 Carrizo, 46 Berni, 11 Biabiany, 12 Telles, 14 Montoya, 23 Ranocchia, 27 Gnoukouri, 33 D'Ambrosio, 55 Nagatomo, 97 Manaj.
Coach: Roberto Mancini.
JUVENTUS: 1 Buffon; 15 Barzagli, 19 Bonucci, 3 Chiellini; 16 Cuadrado, 6 Khedira, 8 Marchisio, 10 Pogba, 33 Evra; 9 Morata (Mandzukic 70), 7 Zaza (Dybala 77).
Subs not used: 25 Neto, 38 Audero, 11 Hernanes, 12 Alex Sandro, 18 Lemina, 20 Padoin, 22 Asamoah, 24 Rugani, 27 Sturaro, 37 Pereyra.
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri.
Booked: Marchisio 7, Felipe Melo 8, Khedira 11, Zaza 16, Evra 69, Brozovic 77, Chiellini 85, Miranda 90.
Added time: 0 + 3 minutes.
Referee: Valeri.
Assistants: Manganelli, Meli.
Fourth official: Dobosz.
Additional assistants: Massa, Russo.
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LE PAROLE DI MANCINI POST INTER JUVE
