Inter suffer 1 - 0 home defeat to Juventus

A bitter night at San Siro. Inter lost to Juve in a Derby d'Italia showdown that was far from a thriller, with the visitors managing to capitalise on one of the few chances created throughout the game and secure victory thanks to Kostic's left-footed strike. It's the Nerazzurri's second consecutive league defeat, meaning Inzaghi's side remain on 50 points and now trail second-place Lazio (52). Despite starting the match well and initially forcing Juventus back, Inter failed to respond after falling behind. Nerves took over, ideas were lacking and very few chances presented themselves.

Without Skriniar, Bastoni and Gosens at his disposal, Inzaghi selected Darmian in defence, Dumfries out wide on the right and a front pairing made up of Lukaku and Lautaro. Allegri, meanwhile, fielded Soulé behind Vlahovic, with the young Argentine tasked with marking Brozovic all over the pitch, thus stifling the Nerazzurri's build-up play. Over 75,000 fans were in the stands at San Siro as a magnificent choreography display dedicated to the Club's 115-year history accompanied the build-up to kick-off. When the game got underway, Inter, spurred on by the crowd, made a ferocious start, with Barella testing Szczesny as early as the second minute. As the opening stages progressed, composure seemed to be lacking from both sides. Nevertheless, Lukaku and Barella combined brilliantly in the 18th minute, but the Italian's shot was too close to the Juventus goalkeeper and it remained level. It then became a real struggle for Inter.

Indeed, Juve took the lead in the 23rd minute following a counter-attacking move involving Rabiot, Vlahovic and Kostic, the latter of whom drilled past Onana into the far bottom corner. After a long VAR check due to potential handballs by both Rabiot and Vlahovic, the goal that proved to be the winner was awarded. Now behind, Inter needed to put their foot on the pedal, whereas Juve, who had got what they wanted, could afford to soak up pressure and try to hit the Nerazzurri on the break quickly. The Bianconeri were switching play frequently, with Kostic proving to be a real thorn in Inter's side.

The Nerazzurri's attacking play was lacking fluidity, and a compact Juve defence looked comfortable, dealing with any high balls that Inter played. With Vlahovic laying the ball off to his teammates, Chiesa's introduction added pace to the Bianconeri's counter-attacks. Inzaghi, meanwhile, sent on Dzeko and Correa to try and shake things up, also switching to a four-man defence.

In the 76th minute, Gatti made a crucial intervention to prevent a tap-in for Lukaku, while, immediately afterwards, Onana came to the rescue for the Nerazzurri as he punched away a menacing cross-shot. Mkhitaryan, who had replaced Barella, tried his luck from distance on more than one occasion but failed to hit the target. A long, tense and disjointed finale finished with red cards for D'Ambrosio and Paredes as tempers flared. Inter's March is now over as the international break begins. The Nerazzurri will return to action on Saturday 1 April against Fiorentina at San Siro.

INTER 0-1 JUVENTUS

Goalscorer: 23' Kostic (J)

INTER (3-5-2): 24 Onana; 36 Darmian (11 Correa 79'), 6 De Vrij, 15 Acerbi; 2 Dumfries (12 Bellanova 83'), 23 Barella (22 Mkhitaryan 63'), 77 Brozovic, 20 Calhanoglu, 32 Dimarco (33 D'Ambrosio, 63'); 90 Lukaku (9 Dzeko 79'), 10 Lautaro. Substitutes: 1 Handanovic, 21 Cordaz, 5 Gagliardini, 14 Asllani, 45 Carboni, 46 Zanotti, 47 Fontanarosa. Coach: Inzaghi.

JUVENTUS (3-5-1-1): 1 Szczesny; 15 Gatti, 3 Bremer, 6 Danilo; 2 De Sciglio (11 Cuadrado 75'), 44 Fagioli, 5 Locatelli, 25 Rabiot, 17 Kostic; 30 Soulé (7 Chiesa 67'; 32 Paredes 83'); 9 Vlahovic. Substitutes: 23 Pinsoglio, 36 Perin, 19 Bonucci, 22 Di Maria, 24 Rugani, 45 Barrenechea, Sekulov, 43 Iling Jr. Coach: Massimiliano Allegri.

Booked: Barella (I), Gatti (J), Rabiot (J), Danilo (J), Fagioli (J), D'Ambrosio (I), Brozovic (I) Sent off: D'Ambrosio (I) and Paredes (J) (97') Added time: 5' - 6'.

Referee: Chiffi. Assistants: Preti, Berti. Fourth official: Marinelli. VAR: Mazzoleni. VAR assistant: Piccinini. Suspended: Kean (J). One booking away from suspension: Dumfries (I); Kean, Alex Sandro, Rabiot (J).

MATCHDAY 27

Sassuolo 1-0 Spezia Atalanta 2-1 Empoli Monza 1-1 Cremonese Salernitana 2-2 Bologna Udinese 3-1 AC Milan Sampdoria 3-1 Hellas Torino 0-4 Napoli Fiorentina 1-0 Lecce Lazio 1-0 Roma Inter 0-1 Juventus

TABLE

Napoli 71 Lazio 52 Inter 50 AC Milan 48 Roma 47 Atalanta 45 Juventus 41* Udinese 38 Fiorentina 37 Bologna 37 Torino 37 Sassuolo 36 Monza 34 Empoli 28 Lecce 27 Salernitana 27 Spezia 24 Hellas Verona 19 Sampdoria 15 Cremonese 13

*15-point deduction