Full-Time 11th Edition - Juventus vs. Inter

 

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Match Recap

Fresh off a convincing 2-0 victory against Freiburg at the midweek, Juventus’ confidence level was only continuing to build and compound on itself. With a ticket now punched to the quarterfinals of the Europa League and a date set with Portuguese club Sporting CP, the Italian giants geared up for another massive matchday against bitter rivals Inter in the Derby d'Italia. From the first whistle it was apparent what head coach Max Allegri wanted his team to achieve. The Old Lady set out with the clear intention to snag an early lead and defend like their lives depended on it for the remainder of the 90 minutes…in typical Allegri fashion. Fans of the Bianconero were quickly relieved as their club capitalized and took an early lead via a low-driven strike from Serbian winger, Filip Kostic. This may come as a surprise given the fact that Kostic, who is typically deployed as a left winger, rarely takes shots for himself and primarily focuses on trying to support his teammates in attack. In fact, Kostic’s main duty in most match fixtures is to continuously launch a barrage of crosses into the opposition’s box, in hopes that a teammate like fellow Serbian Dusan Vlahovic or center back Gleison Bremer will be on the receiving end to head home a goal. However, in this instance Kostic took matters into his own hands and slotted home a perfectly struck ball that was assisted by midfielder Adrien Rabiot (another player who continues to win over fans in recent months). Now that Juventus had secured the lead they so desperately needed, what followed was nothing short of a defensive masterclass, something that resembled the formidable defensive performances that could be seen in years past. Deploying a 3-5-1-1 formation, Juventus was more than content to concede the majority of possession and allow Inter to meander their way up and down the field. When all was said and done, Inter tallied 69% of the possession and racked up 18 total shots, however these efforts were to no avail as every attack was broken by the impenetrable wall that was the Juventus defense. To put things into perspective, Inter accumulated 2 ½ times more total shots than Juve, but both teams only registered 3 “shots on goal”. Essentially, despite giving up most of the ball to Inter, Juventus’ defense was relatively unbothered for the entirety of the match and came out unscathed with a satisfying and much needed 1-0 victory on their rivals home turf. 

(TheScore.com)

Standout Players 

In this week’s edition of “standout players”, there will be a couple players that have earned a mention. First and foremost, the lone goalscorer of the match, Filip Kostic, has earned himself a spot on this list. It is not often that the Serbian wingback gets to contribute goals of his own to the scoresheet, but on this night he had no choice but to take advantage of a perfect opportunity in front of him and bury a goal in the back of the net. The next player that has earned himself a spot with their exceptional performance is young Italian center back Federico Gatti. The 24 year old defenseman has found himself playing more and more minutes in the starting lineup, as veteran options like Leonardo Bonucci have been reserved to more of a substitute role as of late. Gatti’s performance in this match was top-tier, as he locked down the Juventus backline and kept Inter’s most dangerous attacking threat, Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, more than suppressed. His passion for the Juventus badge does not go unnoticed by fans, as he has quickly improved throughout his time with the main squad. He erupted into a fiery celebration after securing a late game clearance deep in his own half. A clearance that I’m sure goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny was much appreciative for, as his services weren’t really needed for a good portion of the game. The last mention is not for a player but the coach, Max Allegri. Mad Max has revitalized this squad and it shows. Since the 15-point reduction (one that may be overturned after an appeal in a couple weeks), Allegri has rallied his troops and secured one victory after another. Juventus has now marched back up the Serie A ladder and continues to gain ground on those much desired top-4 positions, which would qualify them for Champions League soccer next season. This team has overcome much adversity to get where they are now and finally seems to be confident and have a true identity to their game. Juventus and their fans will go into this short international break with their heads held high, as the future may be looking bright!

Outside Sources:

https://www.sofascore.com/inter-juventus/MdbsXdb

https://www.thescore.com/ita_fed/news/2605876