Inter face a Kostić they can’t scratch against Juventus
Both clubs entered this game having booked their place in the quarter-final of European competition, but the early stages proved that there would be no drifting minds with this being such an important match in the SA calendar. Nicolò Barella hit two venomous strikes in the opening 18 minutes, one from range and another ending wonderful link-up play with Romelu Lukaku, although Wojciech Szczęsny was equal to both of them. André Onana was given no hope of replicating those heroics 27 minutes in, as Filip Kostić followed up his two assists in the reverse fixture by arrowing a strike into the bottom corner that left the goalkeeper rooted.
While the atmosphere in the stands and on the pitch heated up after the opener, the Bianconeri were arguably too cool in attack, being found guilty of overplaying in and around the penalty area on a couple of occasions. There was no such issue when Nicolò Fagioli delivered a cross for Kostić, but Barella did superbly to reach the ball ahead of the Serbia international, whose compatriot Dušan Vlahović was beaten to the loose ball by Matteo Darmian.
Juventus continued to look strong defensively after the break, and when there was finally a slight opening for Hakan Çalhanoğlu, a poor touch let the midfielder down and Manuel Locatelli promptly came across to snuff out the danger. Federico Gatti’s intervention from Denzel Dumfries’ pass for Lukaku was equally impressive and matched with emphatic celebrations, although there weren’t any at the other end seconds later as Onana got his fingertips onto Chiesa’s cross to take it away from Locatelli.
Despite suffering a real blow with Chiesa going off injured just 17 minutes after his introduction, Juventus earned the 10th win in their last 12 matches across all competitions, taking them seven points behind the SA top four with a possibility that the Bianconeri’s 15-point deduction could be overturned. Meanwhile, Inter have now won just one of their last five fixtures and remain third.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gleison Bremer (Juventus)
