An absolutely crucial and dramatic win over Conte's Inter, Juventus defeated their rivals despite being one man down for nearly 40 minutes. Ronaldo's penalty and Cuadrado's brace keep Juve in contention for a Champions League spot.
STARTING XI
4-4-2
#1- Szczesny
#13- Danilo
#4- De Ligt
#3- Chiellini
#12- Alex Sandro
#16- Cuadrado
#30- Bentancur
#25- Rabiot
#22- Chiesa
#44- Kulusevski
#7- Ronaldo
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Juve started off quite strong and put attacking pressure on Inter right from the get-go. It was the Bianconeri who were doing the majority of the attacking and they were awarded a penalty in the 23rd minute after VAR judged Darmian to have brought down Chiellini in the box. Ronaldo stood up to take the kick, and despite Handanovic having saved the penalty, the Portuguese fired in on the rebound to make it 1-0.
Just ten minutes later, however, Inter were awarded a penalty after VAR judged De Ligt to have clipped Lautaro’s heel inside the box. Lukaku stood up to the spot and converted by sending Szczesny the wrong way.
Approaching the end of the first half, Juve weren't giving up. Their persistence paid off after they grabbed the lead through Juan Cuadrado, who struck a stunning strike on the edge of the box that looped over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. 2-1 at halftime.
Things got tougher in the second half when Bentancur's second yellow card reduced Juve down to ten men. Pirlo substitutes McKennie in for Kulusevski to make up for that loss.
After almost thirty minutes of a goalless back and forth, drama ensues. Inter drew level through an own goal by Chiellini that was originally ruled out before VAR intervened.
Immediately after in Juve's first attack after conceding, Juventus were awarded a second penalty in the 88th minute when Cuadrado was brought down by Perisic. The Colombian took to the penalty spot and fired home with ease to ensure the Bianconeri claimed a 3-2 victory. Fino alla Fine!
JUVENTINA'S THOUGHTS
Great win. Despite there being a few controversial calls from the refereeing team, this is what the Derby d'Italia is about. With these three points, Juve will have a shot at the UCL until the very end of the season, which concludes this weekend. In terms of Serie A, all there left to do is win against Bologna, and hope that Milan or Napoli will drop points in the final round. Fino alla fine, until the end!
MOTM: Cuadrado
