Inter Triumphs in Perth Derby d’Italia Against Juventus
Inter 2-1 Juventus
Dimarco 20, Diouf 63 (I); Conceição 85 (J)
Under the Perth floodlights, on the other side of the world from San Siro and the Allianz Stadium, Inter and Juventus served up a friendly that rarely felt like one.
Debuts, defensive lapses, late drama. And, crucially for Simone Inzaghi’s side, a win.
Dimarco pounces, Juve slow to wake
Juventus arrived off a 1-0 win over Chelsea, with Kenan Yildiz handed his first start of the summer. Inter, fresh from a 1-1 draw with Milan in an Australian Derby della Madonnina, again rotated, with Petar Sucic absent after flying back to Europe for the birth of his child.
Inter settled first. They struck with a move that exposed Juve’s left flank and punished a moment’s hesitation.
Ange-Yoan Bonny escaped Wes McKennie down the left, powered into space and rolled the ball across the box. Federico Dimarco didn’t catch it cleanly, but he didn’t need to. His scuffed, first-time finish from 12 yards skidded into the far bottom corner, past Michele Di Gregorio and inside the post. Clinical enough. Inter in front.
The Nerazzurri carried the weight of the game early. Hakan Calhanoglu forced Di Gregorio into action with a viciously dipping free-kick that the keeper had to read late. Henrikh Mkhitaryan then tried his luck from distance, again drawing a save as Juve struggled to get out.
Only then did Juventus begin to stir.
Douglas Luiz threaded a clever pass that sliced open Inter’s line and sent Andrea Cambiaso clear. Instead of going for goal, Cambiaso chose the pull-back and the chance vanished. Yildiz soon followed with a reminder of his promise, drilling just wide from the edge of the area. Signs of life, but no equaliser.
Spalletti turns to youth, Diouf punishes Juve
Half-time brought the usual pre-season carousel. Luciano Spalletti, looking at combinations as much as the scoreline, made a raft of changes and introduced the headline names: Randal Kolo Muani and Kerim Alajbegovic both sent on for their Juventus debuts.
The script, though, belonged to Inter.
They doubled their lead with a goal that will irritate Juventus long after the jet lag fades. Andy Diouf drove into the yawning gap between Juan Cabal and Teun Koopmeiners, a chasm that opened right through the heart of the Bianconeri back line. His angled effort from the left should have been routine for Di Gregorio at the near post.
It wasn’t.
The ball squirmed under the goalkeeper’s body in almost comic fashion and rolled over the line. A smart Inter move, a forceful Diouf run, but a gift of a finish. Two-nil, and Juventus punished for slack defending and a costly mistake.
Inter could have killed it off completely. Jamal Iddrissou rolled a simple ball across the area, only for unmarked Matteo Lavelli to lean back and balloon over an open goal. Before that, an Alajbegovic cross had just grazed the head of Kolo Muani, inches away from the debut goal the forward craved.
Conceição ignites late push
For a while, it looked like the game would drift away from Juventus. Then Francisco Conceição changed the mood.
Alajbegovic had already shown flashes, bursting into the box but looking for a teammate instead of taking on the shot himself. The intent was there, the decision-making still catching up with the pace of elite football.
The breakthrough finally came down the left. Conceição combined sharply with Fabio Miretti, burst into space and drove at goal with purpose. His finish was ruthless, fired low and hard through Josep Martinez’s legs. A consolation on the scoreboard, but a jolt of belief on the pitch. 2-1, five minutes of normal time left, and suddenly Inter were scrambling.
Juventus almost levelled immediately.
Alajbegovic, now playing with his shoulders up and his confidence rising, forced Martinez into a save after a neat assist from Kolo Muani. Then the Frenchman took centre stage himself, going down in the area under pressure from Leonardo Bovio as he tried to spin from around 10 yards out. He wanted a penalty. The referee waved play on. No lifeline.
Inter held out, their earlier work and Juve’s earlier errors just enough to see them through.
For Inzaghi, it was a satisfying night: Dimarco sharp, Diouf decisive, the structure largely intact despite heavy changes. For Spalletti, the result will sting less than the manner of the goals conceded, but the late surge from Conceição, Alajbegovic and Kolo Muani hinted at a front line that could soon look very different.
On a winter’s night in Perth, the Derby d’Italia was only a friendly on paper. The next time these two meet, with points and pressure on the line, how many of tonight’s new faces will be at the heart of it?
