Massimiliano Allegri made life easy for Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg, while Nerazzurri boss Simone Inzaghi seemingly sent a message to city rivals Milan, writes Lorenzo Bettoni at San Siro.
It was a tough night for the Bianconeri. Juventus had remained unbeaten in the previous three games against Inter this season but simply collapsed in the decider of the Coppa Italia semi-final. Allegri’s boys produced five shots on target and only one from inside the box.
Eyebrows were raised when the starting XI was announced. With Dusan Vlahovic and Moise Kean injured, Arek Milik was the only centre forward available, but the Poland international initially went on the bench with Federico Chiesa and Angel Di Maria up front.
Allegri’s plan was clear on paper. Play long balls, try to win second balls and hurt the Nerazzurri with counter-attacks. The trouble is, it never happened. Juventus were disjointed through the whole 90 minutes, but the first half was particularly frustrating for Bianconeri fans. Filip Kostic produced the only shot on target of the opening 45 minutes, the Old Lady often tried to feed their wingers, but when they had the ball, there was no striker to look for in the box.
It didn’t change much in the second half, although Milik was introduced immediately after the break. The Poland international struggled against Inter’s three-man defence. Angel Di Maria and Federico Chiesa played too far from the opposing’s goal, Manuel Locatelli looked lost in the middle of the park and all defenders were shaky despite the return of the experienced Leonardo Bonucci. It’s no coincidence that goalkeeper Mattia Perin was probably the MOTM for the Bianconeri, producing an outstanding save in the second half to keep Juventus’ qualification hopes alive.
Juventus fans and Italian media on Thursday morning mainly blamed Allegri, who hasn’t been able to give a clear identity to his team. Last night’s performance was one of the most disappointing of the season and it came after three consecutive defeats in Serie A for the first time since 2010 when Luigi Delneri was in charge.
Allegri surely has a big responsibility for the team’s lack of development. Vlahovic, for example, has regressed since his €80m transfer from Fiorentina in 2022, Locatelli has not fulfilled his potential, Chiesa has been struggling with playing time after suffering a knee injury – not Allegri’s fault – but has been deployed in many different positions, including left wing-back in a 3-5-2 formation.
What’s probably even more worrying for Juve is that Max also looks exhausted. By watching the game at San Siro last night, you would feel that Juventus were never in contention to win it. They hardly believe they could win it and, somehow, it looks like their motivations disappeared after they were temporarily returned 15 points by CONI earlier this month.
On the other hand, Inter confidently conducted the game from start to finish. They never looked in trouble and, most importantly, were dangerous whenever they approached Perin’s goal. The Nerazzurri absolutely dominated in midfield, where Nicolò Barella, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu often hid the ball to Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot and Fabio Miretti. It all started from there.
Inzaghi’s men created numerical advantage everywhere on the pitch and when there were one vs. one situations they would always beat their direct opponent. Lautaro Martinez shocked Gleison Bremer in the first half with a sombrero flick that was the practical representation of the match. Inter were always one step ahead, while the Old Lady struggled to chase their opponents.
Federico Dimarco was a constant threat down the left flank, where he bullied Mattia De Sciglio, who looked like a fish out of water for some solid 70 minutes. The Nerazzurri left-back scored the only goal of the night after 15 minutes, easily squeezing past Juventus defenders and finding the net with a cheeky finish. “In all honesty, it doesn’t matter how I hit it, what matters is that it went in,” he told SportMediaset after the final whistle.
Il Biscone has now qualified for the second straight Coppa Italia Final under Inzaghi, a specialist in the competition which he has already won twice as a coach. The Italian tactician was praised by Nerazzurri ultras in Curva Nord last night and, to be fair, it wasn’t the first time they sang his name.
Inter may have lost 11 of their 31 Serie A games this term, but their performances in cup games, both Coppa Italia and Champions League, have been impressive. The European semi-final against Milan is just around the corner and Inzaghi’s men have proved to be ready.
The Piacenza-born coach even appeared to send a message to his city rivals during his post-match press conference: “We have reached another Final and we want to continue doing them,” he said. Inter have two wins and one defeat in the previous three meetings against the Rossoneri this term and have a specialist in knock-out games in their coach. Inzaghi’s teams have emerged victorious 26 times in 34 knock-out matches, including six Finals.
Not all that glitters is gold, however, as the Nerazzurri have won only one of the last six Serie A games and have been accustomed to highs and lows, pretty much like any other Italian opponent this season. There’s still a long way to Istanbul but in the meantime, Inter have booked tickets for Rome where they could lift their fourth trophy in two years.
@lorebetto