A stunning Filip Kostic strike in the first half was the difference in the 180th Derby d’Italia, as Juventus beat Inter Milan 1-0 in an ill-tempered affair to keep their slim top-four hopes alive.
It was far from a classic as battle resumed between the old foes, but it was Juventus who continued their fine run of form to complete the Serie A double over their fierce rivals.
A speculative effort in the second minute from Nicolo Barella gave the hosts some early momentum but they failed to create anything clear cut in front of the adoring San Siro faithful.
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Juventus were content to sit back and frustrate the Nerazzurri, and clinched the three points in style with a goal worthy of settling any contest.
Some great play from Adrien Rabiot set up Kostic, who breifly assessed his options before unleashing a thunderbolt from the edge of the box that flashed past Andre Onana and into the bottom corner.
The away side’s joy looked set to be short-lived when replays appeared to show Rabiot had handled the ball in the build-up, but after a lengthy check, VAR gave the goal.
Both sides had some half-chances in the second period but neither goalkeeper was truly tested as Juventus hung on for a well-earned win.
It was a game that simmered for the duration and spilled over at full time as both Danilo D’Ambrosio and Leandro Paredes were sent off.
But it will be of little consequence to Juventus, who stay in seventh but move within seven points of the top four, while Inter slip to third following Lazio’s win.
Up next, Inter host Fiorentina while Juventus face Verona at home.
TALKING POINT – TOP-FOUR BATTLE INTENSIFIES
The fight for the Champions League places gets more interesting with this result. Lazio inherit second from Inter after their victory against Roma but don’t count out Juventus, who are now within seven points of AC Milan in fourth.
The Serie A giants have done brilliantly to recover from the 15-point deduction they were assessed and may even get those points back pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation. With Napoli all but guaranteed to clinch the title, it’s all to play for in the best-of-the-rest battle.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – FILIP KOSTIC (JUVENTUS)
This was a close call between Kostic and Rabiot, who was also excellent in the middle of the park. However, the quality of the decisive strike, and the constant threat he posed Inter, means it’s Kostic who gets the nod.
PLAYER RATINGS
Inter Milan: Andre Onana (7), Matteo Darmian (6), Stefan De Vrij (5), Francesco Acerbi (6), Denzel Dumfries (7), Nicolo Barella (7), Hakan Calhanoglu (6), Marcelo Brozovic (6), Frederico Dimarco (6), Lautaro Martinez (5), Romelu Lukaku (5)
Juventus: Wojciech Szczesny (7), Federico Gatti (7), Gleison Bremer (6), Danilo (7), Mattia De Sciglio (6), Nicolo Fagioli (7), Manuel Locatelli (7), Adrien Rabiot (8), Filip Kostic (9), Matias Soule (8), Dusan Vlahovic (7)
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
18′ – WHAT A MOVE: The hosts enjoy a spell of possession before Barella and Lukaku work a magnificent one-two to set the former bearing down on goal. He strikes the half-volley really sweetly but it’s straight at Szczesny, who gets down to save well.
23′ – GOAL!! KOSTIC GIVES JUVE THE LEAD: After withstanding a spell of Inter pressure, Juventus are ahead. Rabiot does really well on the edge of the box to work some space and feed Kostic on the left. The midfielder assesses his options before opting to shoot and rifling it into the bottom corner.
29′ – JUVE NEARLY DOUBLE THEIR LEAD: It’s one-way traffic here. At the restart, Juventus steal possession and come again. Kostic is back in space and finds Soule in the box, but the youngster loses his balance and fires wide.
76′ – BRILLIANT BLOCK BY GATTI: It’s end-to-end stuff briefly. First, Dumfries has a great chance to pick out an Inter player in the box but Gatti comes up with a brilliant interception. Juventus then go on the attack and Kostic has a chance to double the Juventus lead, but it’s well blocked and goes out for a corner.
98′ – DOUBLE RED CARD: Frustrations spill over after the full-time whistle and Paredes and D’Ambrosio are red carded!
KEY STATS
- Juventus have now won 10 of their last 12 fixtures in all competitions
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