Recap: Inter hold off Juventus

The 169th Derby d’Italia finished in a 0-0 draw, keeping the Nerazzurri at the top of the Serie A table.

Gianluigi Buffon was injured for this contest which left Wojciech Szczesny in between the pipes for Juve. Massimiliano Allegri decided to leave star player Paulo Dybala on the bench for the first half. It didn’t matter, however, as Juventus still tested Samir Handanovic with 19 total shots, as Inter proved to be quite volatile throughout the fixture.

Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images

Mario Mandzukic tested Handanovic in the first frame. Mandzukic’s first shot rang off the bar, and his second chance came off of a volley that was turned away by the 33-year-old Inter keeper. Miranda did a good job on defense today after serving his one-match ban.

Sami Khedira took a shot on Handanovic that was gathered calmly, but you could tell the whole morale of the team wasn’t as calm. Inter had 0 shots in the first 45 minutes.

Juventus created a high number of dangerous chances throughout the duration of the second half. The black and white ended up with 52 percent possession after the final whistle blew.

Juan Cuadrado sent a header towards Inter’s net that again had to be turned away by Handanovic. The Slovenian has been in sensational form since he signed his new three-and-a-half year deal.

Dybala was substituted in later on in the fixture. The flow of play shifted even more in favor of Juve as they started coming at Internazionale in waves, but again the resilient play of the blue and black prevailed.

Inter managed only one shot on target in the whole game, but did hold Juventus off the score sheet for the first time since October 2016. Napoli still haven’t played their match against Fiorentina and they sit 2 points behind the Nerazzurri for first in the Serie A.

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