Inter vs Juventus 4-4: Goal Galore in Historic Derby d’Italia | OneFootball

Inter and Juventus gave life to a historic edition of the Derby d’Italia on Sunday night but, at the end of the day, it was Napoli to celebrate. As the San Siro formed the backdrop for a spectacular eight-goal showdown, Antonio Conte and his boys took advantage of the 4-4 stalemate to increase their lead over the Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri to four and five points respectively.

It was an absolute show and a good worldwide advertisement for the Serie A. This is was only the third time in history that at least eight goals were scored in the Derby d’Italia. It was a game that will go straight to the Serie A history books.

Perhaps it will be Simone Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri to leave the San Siro with a few more regrets as Inter had built a two-goal cushion early in the second half and collected several chances to make it 5-2. Then, Thiago Motta made the call of the night as he sent in Kenan Yildiz. The 19-year-old Turkish starlet repaid him with a brace that set the score at 4-4.

Inter opened the scoring after 14 minutes, courtesy of a spot kick converted by Piotr Zielinksi. The former Napoli midfielder buried the spot after Danilo fouled Marcus Thuram in the box.

Juventus’ reaction was immediate and resulted in an equalizer only six minutes later. Juan Cabal lobbed the ball in the middle of the box, picking Weston McKennie who was left unmarked by Stefan De Vrij. The U.S. international served Dusan Vlahovic and the Serbian had all the time he needed to tap the ball past Yann Sommer. A brilliant goal, and already a night to remember, that was for sure.

Five minutes later, the Bianconeri completed their comeback. This time, it was Timothy Weah to find the back of the net, making the best out of a cross from Francisco Conceicao. It was the second goal this season for the legendary George’s son, who could not score any in 30 games last time around.

On 35 minutes, it was 2-2 at the end of a spectacular one-touch action powered by Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian’s exploit ended with a clinical left-foot shot that left no chance to Michele Di Gregorio, after exchanging the ball with Marcus Thuram.

Inter then received some unexpected help from Pierre Kalulu. The Juve center back has been one of the best performer among Thiago Motta’s lines so far this season, but his clumsy clearance attempt in the box on 38 minutes only resulted in him kicking Denzel Dumfries and prompting the referee to point at the penalty spot for the second time.

Up stepped again Zielinski and he buried the spot one more time to wrap his daily brace, despite Di Gregorio almost managing to catch his shot. At half time, it was 3-2 for the home side.

Those expecting a more relaxed second half after some initial 45 minutes played at a crazy pace were proven wrong early after the restart as Inter hit the net for the fourth time. On 53 minutes, Dumfries was picked in the middle of the box from a corner kick. His diagonal shot beat Di Gregorio again.

The former Monza goalkeeper had conceded only one goal in this Serie A season so far, tonight he was pierced four times in 53 minutes. However, he had the merit of keeping his side afloat with two spectacular saves from Federico Dimarco and Nicolò Barella shots that prevented the Nerazzurri from making it five.

And so, Juventus managed to weather the storm as their coach Thiago Motta came up with an absolute stroke of genius, sending in Kenan Yildiz on 61 minutes.

It took less than ten minutes for the Turkish genius to put his stamp on the game. His first goal came at the end of a deadly fast break, finishing with a diagonal shot to which Sommer had no answer. On 82 minutes, he made it 4-4, pouncing on the rebound from a Yann Bisseck clearance and finding the right spot past Sommer again.

It was a night to remember at the San Siro. A round of applauses to both sides, even though it was mostly Napoli to smile.