Inter Milan earned a comfortable 2-0 win over Juventus in the Derby d’Italia on Sunday night, with Niccolo Barella the star for Antonio Conte’s side as he assisted the opener and scored the second.
Other than a brief moment early on, when Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had put Juventus ahead only to be thwarted by the offside flag, the result was never really in doubt and the Nerazzurri were comfortably in charge.
It wasn’t long after that when Arturo Vidal nodded Inter ahead. Barella did well on the right and delivered a perfect cross, allowing Vidal to climb highest and head past Wojciech Szczesny.
Alessandro Bastoni was the standout at the back as he continued to keep Juventus at bay himself, limiting the Bianconeri to long-range efforts from Ronaldo, while Lautaro Martinez passed up a couple of good chances that should have seen Inter extend their lead before the break and Szczesny was called upon as well.
Just over five minutes after the restart, Barella doubled Inter’s advantage. Whether Barella was the intended target or not, a sweeping ball forward from Bastoni set him through on Juventus’ goal and, just as he approached Szczesny, he waited for the Pole to move first before rifling a shot into the top corner.
He mightn’t have had many chances himself, but Romelu Lukaku was excellent in buying space for Inter and bringing his teammates into the game, and exactly that saw Lautaro have another chance, but he couldn’t take it.
Kulusevski’s determination and fight aside, La Vecchia Signora looked pedestrian and Inter took the derby honours as well as an important three points.
