Claudio Villa
5 Total Updates since November 2, 2012
7 months ago Article 2 comments
It's over! Juventus fail to make it 50 unbeaten games in a row as Inter Milan come away from Turin with all three points. That puts Inter just one point behind Juventus.
7 months ago Update 0 comments
It took less than 30 seconds -- that's got to be the quickest in Serie A this season. Less than 30 seconds before Arturo Vidal scored to start the Derby d'Italia. The goal was a true team effort by Juventus, with precise passing leading to a charging run by Kwadwo Asamoah. Asamoah passed to Vidal at the far post, who had no trouble getting by Juan to put the ball in the back of the net.
The fact that Asamoah was offside when he received the ball didn't seem to trouble Paolo Tagliavento or his linesman. Unfortunately for Inter Milan, it wasn't the only dubious call made in the first half.
Juve very nearly doubled their lead inside five minutes, but Mirko Vucinic failed to connect when Sebastian Giovinco rolled the ball across the face of goal. Then Claudio Marchisio tried his luck, but Samir Handanovic managed to beat away his sharp shot.
In the 20th minute, Antonio Cassano tried his luck from just outside the area, swinging his shot in toward the far post. It would have been a lovely goal if only it had hit the inside of the post rather than the outside.
Almost surprisingly, it took 30 minutes for the first yellow card to be given out -- and no one was surprised when it went to Stephan Lichtsteiner. His collision with Esteban Cambiasso left the none-too-small Argentine sprawled flat on his back. Cassano failed to do anything with the resulting free kick, sending it straight into the wall to start yet another Juventus counterattack.
Tagliavento made a game-changing decision in the 35th minute. Lichtsteiner, who should have been smart enough to be cautious after picking up a yellow less than five minutes before, went in on Rodrigo Palacio with his foot high in the air. The challenge was poor enough that a straight red would not have been harsh -- but Tagliavento didn't show a second yellow. Would now be a good time to mention that Juve haven't had a man sent off thus far this season?
As if to reaffirm observers' belief that Lichtsteiner should be off the pitch, Angelo Alessio -- speaking for Antonio Conte, it's certain -- pulled the Swiss just a few minutes later, replacing him with Martín Cáceres. It might be looking good for Juventus, but this match has Inter's, as well as the rest of the Serie A faithful, blood boiling. Let's see what awaits in the second half...
7 months ago Update 0 comments
Andrea Stramaccioni is sticking with his favored back-three against Juventus today, although he had reverted to a back four when Inter met Sampdoria last week. Considering the nerazzurri actually allowed two goals -- gasp -- Strama is taking no chances against the league leaders.
In fact, the Inter manager looks as though he's putting his faith in the powers of a rat-tail, adding Rodrigo Palacio up front with Antonio Cassano and Diego Milito in a 3-4-3. The man with the tail has scored 2 goals in five matches, whereas Cassano and Milito each have five from ten. Looks like the visitors are determined to stop Juve from reaching a 50-game unbeaten run.
Inter Milan Starting XI: Samir Handanovic; Andrea Ranocchia, Walter Samuel, Juan; Javier Zanetti, Walter Gargano, Esteban Cambiasso, Yuto Nagatomo; Rodrigo Palacio, Antonio Cassano, Diego Milito
Substitutes (from): Luca Castellazzi, Vid Belec, Matías Silvestre, Fredy Guarin, Ricky Álvarez, Gaby Mudingayi, Álvaro Pereira, Marko Livaja, Ibrahima Mbaye, Alfred Duncan.
7 months ago Update 0 comments
As suspected, Paul Pogba drops back to the bench, even after his impressive showing at Bologna last week, having a goal called back and then scoring the winner in injury time. Fabio Quagliarella drops to the bench as well, despite scoring the opener midweek.
Guess Juventus are just too spoiled for choice -- although it's hard to argue that the lineup to be used today hasn't been working for the Old Lady. After all, anything but a loss means Juve will have gone 50 matches unbeaten. Will the Inter Milan lineup have enough oomph behind it to break that streak?
Juventus Starting XI: Gianluigi Buffon; Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Kwadwo Asamoah; Mirko Vucinic, Sebastian Giovinco
Substitutes (from): Marco Storari, Fabio Quagliarella, Paul Pogba, Nicklas Bendtner, Alessandro Matri, Martín Cáceres, Simone Padoin, Paolo De Ceglie, Emanuele Giaccherini, Lucio, Mauricio Isla, Luca Marrone
7 months ago Article 0 comments
Continue7 months ago Article 0 comments
Will Inter be the side to finally end Juve's unbeaten run? Or will the Old Lady's never-say-die attitude produce all three points for the hosts?