The Derby d’Italia. Juventus vs Inter. A clash between two giants of Italian football, with a history of feisty and controversial encounters. A first-half Alessandro Matri header sealed a memorable victory for the Bianconeri on Sunday night, who are now starting to combine desire with quality and progressively re-discover their early season form.
With the Nerazzurri dominating for large periods of the game, it was a mixture of relief and joy once the full-time whistle finally went at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin. After Samuel Eto’o rattled the cross-bar from close range in the dying embers of the game, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry – I went with the former once the whistle sounded and I was safe in the knowledge that the three points were ours.
The win sees us make ground on those battling for a fourth place spot, with Udinese looking strong, and unbelievably winning on the road, it would seem the hard work is just starting. For Inter, it is a huge blow to their Scudetto ambitions, with Fiorentina and Sinisa Mihaljovic welcoming them to Florence on Wednesday night, Leonardo’s men have their work cut out if they are to close the eight-point gap between themselves and leaders Milan with their last remaining game in hand.
Juve travel to Lecce next Sunday, hoping to make it three successive wins, after their triumph in Cagliari last weekend. However, whether Gigi Del Neri has XI fully fit players to take the field remains in doubt. The Bianconeri were dropping like flies in the second-half, with Matri endearing himself further to the tifosi, by battling on until the end despite wandering around the pitch like a wounded soldier.
A special mention to our very own Superman, Giorgio Chiellini. The whole back-line were sensational throughout, but I felt that Giorgio showed exactly what the Juve badge means to him with a tireless display. Matri will of course take the headlines in the papers tomorrow morning, and rightly so. The loanee is proving to be a real goal-scorer for the Old Lady, and it is refreshing to see yet another young Italian talent developing in Turin.
Who was your man of the match? Can Juve go on to claim fourth place?
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Posted by iwc24 on 02/14/2011
i think the fullbacks were great during the first half. A definite improvement with chiellini on the left but i still think he should go back to the middle after the summer once juve gets better fullbacks. For now he will have to be used on the left to improve the defense. Also barzagli was a very good buy and a reliable cb for now. Hopefully juve get that 4th spot so they can be in the cl next season cuz after this one, i think seria a goes down to 3 places based on stupid rules imo
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Posted by Decina on 02/14/2011
Fantastic win, the soccer god's were smiling on us with eto's miss and that's ok with me!
I give man of the match to either Chiellini or Sorenson. Chiellini is proving relentless with his desire. I think his ability to get forward on the left wing is a great opposite to Krasic and allows Marchisio to fall more into the middle, his natural position, when Giorgio pushes forward. And Sorenson did well to keep eto relatively quiet all game and is my choice to retain the right back position for the future. I also think Barzagli will provide great leadership to Bonucci and give our backline even more confidence with the recent return of Buffon.
It is needless to say we must win continuously, especially our big matches, but I think Champions League next year is a hopeful, and obtainable goal. Forza Juve!!!
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Posted by James on 02/14/2011
I think without question Juve will make a run for it. The only concern is the health and fitness of the forwards. Matri makes for a great push in the right direction but the squad carrys a heavy burden with the likes of a always lazy Iaquinta and the out of breath Toni. Krasic carrys much of this burden but its nice to see he finally has someone he can pass the ball with. The back four played like this was the last game in a championship which was much needed when playing Inter. Without question Chiellini was the star of the four but lets not forget the added efforts of the right back Sorensen who not only held off the attacks of Inter but also provide the assist to Matri that won the game. At 18 years old this young player has show great potenial.
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Posted by Matt on 02/15/2011
I was extremely proud of the team on Sunday. Matri played well and fought through that intense pain. Felipe Melo had a great game as well and played hard until he was no longer able to go on. The defense was extremely solid. Chiellini played great coming up the left side even if he was a little clumsy in the offensive third. Sorensen is being asked to do so much for an eighteen year old but has done much more than could be expected. We definitely got lucky with Eto'o but that's how the game is, it can give and it can take away. A great game and the determination of the players shows that they want to be in the Champions League next year.
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Posted by Tristan on 02/18/2011
Why is everyone talking about Juventus finishing 4th this year and playing in the champions league. As incase there is a massive turnaround in form from the Italian sides in the champions league this year Germany will have 4 spots next season and Italy will have 3. This would essentially mean that if Juventus finish 4th they will play in the Europa League.
If the season ends now —
Rank Country Coefficent CL Spots
1 England 81.785 4
2 Spain 76.472 4
3 Germany 67.103 4
4 Italy 59.838 3
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After watching his first Serie A game as a youngster, Sumeet Paul has been an avid fan of Italian football ever since. Offering in-depth and opinionated views, coupled with a humourous element, he has a strong desire to become involved in sports writing. Pairing up his life's two greatest loves; football and talking, he would appreciate any feedback and general football conversation, you can email him at sumeetpaul7@googlemail.com or you can follow him on twitter 
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