A freezing night in Turin hosted the biggest Derby D’Italia in recent years and Elio Salerno analysed a tactical stand-off.
Max Allegri sprang a couple of surprises with the Juventus line-up, benching top scorer Paulo Dybala and in in-form Douglas Costa in favour of a 4-3-3 with Mario Mandzukic and Juan Cuadrado flanking Gonzalo Higuain.
A freezing night in Turin hosted the biggest Derby D’Italia in recent years and Elio Salerno analysed a tactical stand-off.
Max Allegri sprang a couple of surprises with the Juventus line-up, benching top scorer Paulo Dybala and in in-form Douglas Costa in favour of a 4-3-3 with Mario Mandzukic and Juan Cuadrado flanking Gonzalo Higuain.
Luciano Spalletti stuck with his usual 4-2-3-1, using Marcelo Brozovic in an advanced midfield position behind striker Mauro Icardi. Matias Vecino was chosen to anchor the Inter midfield alongside the influential Borja Valero.
A tactical battle
Large parts of this game were a tactical stand-off. In what was a throwback to Serie A games of old, the first half was especially intense, with neither side giving their opposite number much of an opportunity. Juventus suffocated the game; adopting a 4-5-1 off the ball, they allowed Inter possession in a similar fashion to the previous week against Napoli.
Nullifying Inter, Allegri showed yet again his tactical nous; preventing them from playing out from the back and forcing Samir Handanovic into longer passes, which allowed Juve to re-gain possession quickly and attempt to attack Inter when disorganised.
Inter probed away in the first half without testing the Bianconeri, who were snapping at the Inter midfield when passes went into them. The Nerazzurri’s wide players were redundant, as Juventus doubled up to prevent them getting into the game. Mauro Icardi was a spectator as a result. He thrives off the constant flow of crosses Inter danger men Antonio Candreva and Ivan Perisic usually rain in on him.
Juve ran a few risks, as Giorgio Chiellini and co were persistent in playing out of the back in an attempt to exploit spaces in the Inter press. Allegri played Inter at their own game, effectively using the diagonal switch to get their wide players involved and isolate Inter’s full-backs, this resulted in a number of dangerous crosses that tested Inter defensively.
It was a tactic Juve should have won the game from, as Cuadrado found opposite winger Mandzukic on a few occasions with some fantastically delivered balls. The Colombian speedster was the game’s most dangerous attacker, but his Croatian teammate squandered the best chances.
As the game progressed, Inter ran out of ideas and began to defend deeper, allowing Juve to increasingly control possession and build the pressure on Samir Handanovic’s goal. Spalletti appeared to settle for a point with over 20 minutes to play, as the Inter manager removed wide man Candreva and replaced him with box to box midfield player Roberto Gagliardini, shifting Brozovic to the right hand side.
Meanwhile Allegri removed midfield soldier Sami Khedira for star man Paulo Dybala in the hope the Argentine star would steal a win for them. In the end both Coaches will settle for a point in this intriguing Serie A title race, however Spalletti will be the happier man with the way the game played out.
Both sets of fans will have contrasting views on the result, as Interisti will be happy to leave with a point and still undefeated in the knowledge Juventus have to visit San Siro in 2018. Fans of the Bianconeri will be left frustrated and point to Max Allegri as the reason for not winning, despite keeping a fifth clean sheet and creating the best chances. In stopping Inter, Allegri removed a large part of Juve’s attacking threat too. The Coach is certainly diving opinion amongst Juventini.
Napoli and Roma the winners
After a goalless draw, it will be two giants of Italian football from further south that will be happiest with this result. Napoli, after losing to Juventus last week, have the chance to recoup top spot immediately. Despite a tricky home tie to come against Fiorentina on Sunday, this should provide Maurizio Sarri’s men with a much-needed boost, as a win will see them return to the top of Serie A.
Roma can also close the gap, a victory in the early kick-off against Chievo would see them move to within one point of Juve with a game in hand.
The battle for the top is heating up and it’s getting closer every week. None of these sides can afford to give anything away, as their rivals are ready to pounce on any slip-ups.
For the neutrals, it makes for fascinating viewing, as at this point it’s looking like it will be the closest title race for many years.