Juventus beat Inter Milan by 3-2 in Serie A on Saturday night. It was all set for a great spectacle as the Bianconeri had to win the game to stay in the top four race. However, the referee Gianpaolo Calvarese snatched the spotlight of the game with some horrible decisions.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the opener after missing the initial penalty. Romelu Lukaku scored the equalizer from the penalty spot. Juan Cuadrado gave the lead right at the halftime mark. However, in the second half, the Nerazzurri leveled the scoreline following an own goal by Giorgio Chiellini. Soon after that Cuadrado scored yet another penalty to earn all three points.
The referee showed a red card to the Bianconeri midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur on the 55th-minute mark. It was the second yellow card for him which the commentators interpreted as very soft. At the back end of the game, Marcelo Brozovic was shown a red card as well for a bad challenge.
This victory will keep the hope alive of the Old Lady of Turin to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season. The Bianconeri are currently sitting third in the Serie A league table, two points ahead of Napoli who will play on Sunday lunchtime against Fiorentina.
Juventus 3-2 Inter Milan lineups played:
Andrea Pirlo went with the 4-4-2 formation and Wojciech Szczesny started between the sticks. Matthijs De Ligt and Giorgio Chiellini were in the central defence. Rodrigo Bentancur and Adrien Rabiot had the responsibility to control the midfield.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Dejan Kulusevski led the line for Bianconeri. Summer signing Federico Chiesa was on the left-wing and Juan Cuadrado started on the right.
Antonio Conte started the game with his preferred 3-5-2 formation. The veteran goalkeeper and the captain Samir Handanovic started his 36th Serie A appearances of the season. Milan Skriniar, Stefan De Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni were the three men at the back.
Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez led the line for the Italian champions. Christian Eriksen, Brozovic and Nicolo Barella were in the midfield.
Juventus 3-2 Inter Milan Post-match Analysis:
The game was very exciting and entertaining as both sides wanted to win the game. Juventus got the first goal early in the first half after Matteo Darmian fouled Chiellini in the congested penalty box during a corner. VAR awarded the penalty after the referee missed the situation.
Handanovic saved the initial frail shot of Ronaldo but the rebound fell kindly for the Portuguese forward and he put the ball into an empty net.
Inter Milan quickly got back into the game, this time VAR was kind to the Nerazzurri. De Ligt stamped Martínez unintentionally in the box and with the help of the VAR referee awarded the penalty to Inter and Lukaku made no mistake.
In the third minute of the added time, Cuadrado’s shot from just outside the box went straight into the back of the net after deflecting off the back of Eriksen.
In the second half, the referee made a few horrible decisions. First, he sent off Bentancur which bemused the commentators.
In the 83rd minute Inter got the equaliser from Chiellini’s own goal, the goal was initially disallowed by the referee for the foul on the defender. However, with the help of the VAR referee gave the goal to Inter.
Soon after, Calvarese gave another penalty to the Bianconeri which shocked the commentators yet again. However, VAR didn’t disallow the penalty and Cuadrado converted it calmly.
Right at the death, Brozovic got the second yellow card for a bad challenge and his season finished earlier than the others.
Notable Performances:
Juan Cuadrado: Scored two important goals in crucial moments of the game. This kept Juventus in the race at least for the last game of the season.
Giorgio Chiellini: The 36-year-old defender had a mixed time during this game. Won the first penalty and defended really well however scored an own goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Missed the penalty but thankfully scored the rebound but didn’t have a great game.
Juventus will face Bologna in the last game of the season on 23rd May and Inter Milan will welcome Udinese on the same day.
Do follow us on Twitter to get latest football news and updates.
