Juventus 0 – Inter Milan 2: Initial reaction and random observations

Juventus simply bought taken to highschool.

They bought taken to highschool by the man who helped construct them again into the most effective group in Italy. And now, with the Bianconeri’s arch rivals, that very same man who helped construct Juventus again up simply put a critical dent in any form of Scudetto hopes that they might nonetheless have as we get able to hit the halfway level of the season.

Juve’s second go to to the San Siro within the month of January was removed from what we noticed lower than two weeks in the past — each when it comes to the consequence and the efficiency delivered by Andrea Pirlo’s squad. The trainer, Antonio Conte, most undoubtedly bought the higher of his pupil, Pirlo, as Inter didn’t simply beat Juventus 2-0 on Sunday evening — they picked them aside and uncovered each single weak spot that the reigning Italian champions at the moment have.

We’ve seen Juve wrestle to defend counters, they did towards on Sunday.

We’ve seen Juve wrestle on account of a scarcity of a artistic midfielder for a lot of the season, and Inter magnified that on Sunday.

We’ve seen Juve wrestle towards groups that sit again and take in stress, primarily daring Juve’s star-studded assault to beat them man for man, and that’s what Inter did to near-perfection on Sunday.

This was a clinic placed on by Conte and his Inter squad that had beforehand dropped factors in its final two video games. And due to it, Juventus may once more be wanting a double-digit deficit in Serie A proper within the face if AC Milan are victorious towards Cagliari on Monday evening. (Which, regardless of what number of gamers they’re lacking, you’d count on them to win though this season has been fully unpredictable exterior of Juve’s continued curler coaster methods.

This was a nasty efficiency in a recreation the place Juventus wanted to indicate up and play significantly better than that they had been over their final couple of outings. The Juve midfield was a whole no-show — which, towards a group like Inter, is at all times going to trigger main issues. The Juve protection, for essentially the most half, was a whole no-show and this last scoreline may have been a lot, a lot worse if Inter was anyplace near being scientific within the first half.

There have been holes for Inter to assault in every single place. And though Conte’s recreation plan was somewhat easy after going up 1-0 halfway by means of the primary half — most sit again and hammer Juve on the counter — it labored out about in addition to he may have hoped. Juve’s assault, one with two gamers in Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata who’ve had excellent seasons, couldn’t do a lot of something towards an Inter protection that generally is its personal worst enemy. There was no Inter implosion. Fairly, Juve couldn’t get something going to start with — and that’s what made it so robust to attempt to come again after falling behind within the first half.

Inter dictated this recreation, not Juventus no matter what the possession numbers will say.

This was Inter exposing the identical form of flaws that different groups have completed all season lengthy. What harm Juventus on Sunday evening wasn’t something new. Basically, it was only a good group doing what good groups ought to do — exploiting the weaknesses of their opponent.

That’s what Inter did, and I hate that I’ve to reward them a lot for a way properly they performed.

And right here, all of 1 recreation earlier than the halfway level of the 2020-21 season arrives, we proceed to see that Juventus, the group that was as soon as the gold commonplace for protection has all of three shutouts all season.

Amen to that. I miss these days. As a result of this undoubtedly ain’t these days.

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• Juventus Ladies’s Derby d’Italia efficiency on Sunday >>>>>> The Juventus males’s Derby d’Italia efficiency on Sunday. And it’s not even shut. Not one bit.
• Juventus within the first half: 56.4 p.c possession, bought outshot by Inter 11-3.
• Don’t learn about you guys, however that appears fairly ineffective. Possession actually doesn’t imply something in any respect in the event you don’t do something with it. And a number of the ball possession Juventus had within the first half was extremely empty possession with not so much occurring.
• I imply, simply look who had essentially the most touches within the first half: Danilo (62), Leonardo Bonucci (57) and Giorgio Chiellini (41). That’s not all that nice and only a signal of how a lot of Juve’s passing within the first half was between the again three.
• In fact Arturo Vidal’s first purpose since coming again to Serie A is towards Juventus. In fact. That’s the Ex Impact on steroids proper there.
• Danilo’s marking on Vidal’s purpose … not nice. Identical goes for Gianluca Frabotta’s closing out of Nico Barella on the cross. Throughout, not Juve’s most interesting defensive second of the season.
• The quantity of area that Barella needed to run by means of on his purpose … good lord.
• If solely Juve had a midfielder like Barella.
• Juventus had 4 photographs heading in the right direction.
• Inter had 5 photographs heading in the right direction and so they had been fairly horrible at ending within the first half.
• I actually am asking out of seriousness: Did any Juventus participant exterior of Wojciech Szczesny and perhaps Giorgio Chiellini have an excellent recreation? As a result of I’m having a very robust time pondering of 1.
• Seems, having Gianluca Frabotta going up towards an extremely in-form Archaf Hakimi didn’t develop into one thing that might be in Juve’s favor. Who knew!
• With Adrien Rabiot not enjoying just like the form of participant we noticed over the summer time through the restart and Rodrigo Bentancur extending this funk that he’s been in all season lengthy, it’s changing into fairly evident that the enhancements we thought Juventus had been making within the midfield nonetheless isn’t ok. Inter has a useful, logical midfield that works collectively as a unit. Juve’s midfield is simply nonetheless looking for its finest pairing or three-man unit. It’s not going to be solved in a single day though Pirlo desperately wants it to.
• Actually, I do miss seeing Bentancur play like he did final season.
• I don’t wanna use it as an excuse, however Alvaro Morata seemed up to now off the participant we had seen for a lot of this season on Sunday evening after enjoying 120 minutes midweek. And never simply 120 minutes, however some extremely bodily minutes as properly. Oh properly.
• There was one group on the San Siro that seemed like a Scudetto contender on Sunday evening — and it undoubtedly wasn’t the group carrying black and white stripes.
• Juventus’ points from September are nonetheless the problems in mid-January. A few of that’s on the coach, a few of it’s on the gamers and a few of it’s on the blokes who put this roster collectively. This has been a collective effort this season, and one which continues to frustrate the residing hell out of oldsters though we’ve seen these identical issues for months now.
• When Ronaldo’s forcing long-distance photographs a half-hour in, we shoulda recognized how this was going to go.