Serie A | Juventus 1-1 Inter: Derby d'Italia all square

Lautaro Martinez replied to the Dusan Vlahovic opener, as the top of the table showdown between Juventus and Inter ends in a stalemate.

There were only two points separating the top teams going into this massive Derby d’Italia. Alex Sandro returned to the bench after a long lay-off, but Timothy Weah, Danilo and Mattia De Sciglio were still out of action. Manuel Locatelli had a cracked rib, so Hans Nicolussi Caviglia got only his second appearance of the season, the first from the start. Alessandro Bastoni, Benjamin Pavard and Alexis Sanchez didn’t make the trip, with Juan Cuadrado only fit for the bench.

Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez headers were into the arms of Wojciech Szczesny, while Federico Chiesa fired over from a promising position after a long throw-in.

Hakan Calhanoglu let loose with a long-range scorcher that flashed just wide, but Juventus broke the deadlock with sheer determination from Vlahovic.

The Serbian robbed Denzel Dumfries in midfield and sent Chiesa down the left, making the run ready to meet the return pass first time with the inside of the right boot into the far bottom corner.

However, Inter were back on track when playing out from defence, as Thuram burst down the right and rolled across where Lautaro Martinez anticipated Federico Gatti at the near post for a delicate angled finish.

Thuram should’ve done better after the restart when scuffing straight at Szczesny after a smart Nicolò Barella back-heel flick and Henrikh Mkhitaryan pull-back from the by-line.

Juan Cuadrado came on against his former club to loud jeers and insulting chants, but it was overall a much scrappier second half with long periods of Inter possession and very little to show for it.

Ultimately, the result leaves the Scudetto race open and allows Milan and Napoli the chance to close in on the leading pair.

Juventus 1-1 Inter

Vlahovic 27 (J), Lautaro Martinez 33 (I)