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By David Flores | @soccerpunx
Milan was the place to be tonight in Italy, as the Serie A champions inadvertently walked into a trap at the electric San Siro stadium were a seemingly vulnerable Frank De Boer’s side, was desperate to prove some worth after a shameful 2-0 defeat against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Europa League on Thursday.
Juventus wasn’t coming from a great week either, not being able to overcome Sevilla on their Champions League debut of this year last Wednesday. With both teams having made some modifications from their usual lineups, Juventus looked more dependent on the velocity of its wide players, with most of its firing power coming from poorly executed link ups between Stephan Lichtsteiner and forwards Mario Madzukic and this year’s prospect Paulo Dybala.
A few minutes into the game, it was clear that we were not going to see the hype surrounding the young Argentine striker come into fruition. Juventus looked sloppy in their overcrowded midfield, which Inter’s captain Mauro Icardi had no problem in slicing through time and time again during the game, trying to inspire a Milan side who was still hurting from their poor weekly results.
The first half was filled with frustrations for Inter Milan, which through the will and power of Icardi was bringing the game to the visitor’s side but was unable to inspire his teammates to give that extra effort that is needed in a derby of such high caliber. Medhi Benatia who was starring tonight in place of veteran defender Andrea Barzagli limped off the pitch only 26 minutes into the game, in an unwanted substitution by Massilmiliano Allegri who was trying to get the Italian international some rest. The deadlock would be broken at minute 65, when Brazilian fullback Alex Sandro cut past a distracted D'Ambrosio and headed towards the edge of the penalty area before placing an elegant low cross into the middle of the box, where Lichtsteiner appeared to tap the ball into the back of the net from close range.
After all that had been done by Inter Milan so far in the game, Mauro Icardi was not going to allow his team go under, and 3 minutes after the goal, the Nerazurri captain won his side a corner that was put in the middle of the box by Banega, only for the ball to find the Argentine striker once more for a lovely header to the top right corner of the net past Buffon.
With 15 minutes left in the game, Allegri tried to make some fruitless modification up front by sending last year’s Capocannoniere into the pitch for Mario Madzukic. However, the Argentine power duo featured by the Vecchia Signora would go without notice in the game, since the Turin side was more preoccupied in withstanding the Inter onslaught than actually linking a play together to move forward on the attack.
Nearing the end of the game, Icardi went one-on-one with Buffon, but as he was closed down by the Italian mad made wall, the forward pressed down on the ball, gave a lovely spin to cross over to Ivan Perisic who had to deliver for his captain and was able to beat Barzagli in the air before sending a lethal low header into the bottom right corner for the winning goal of the game.
Mauro Icardi almost threw his back leading Inter Milan into a valuable victory that is not only three points, but validation for the work of Mr. De Boer’s side who didn’t have the best of starts to the season. Being able to humble a star-studded Juventus at the San Siro is no easy feat, but one that the fans will surely appreciate in the following weeks as the season progresses.
Juventus now falls behind league leaders Napoli on the table with one point difference, while Inter climbs to the sixth position.
Photo credit: FC Inter
