Juventus 1-1 (4-3 on pens) Inter Milan
The quirk of football fates are alive and well in so many ways. And here in the International Champions Cup in Nanjing were yet further examples that tournament organisers and SBOBET fans can barely have predicted when this fixture was arranged.
Firstly, what were the odds that in the opposite dugouts would be the two most recent Chelsea managers?
Maurizio Sarri and his predecessor Antonio Conte would probably not have expected to be in this position, either.
After all, this time last year Conte had only just departed Stamford Bridge after two seasons in which he delivered the Premier League and the FA Cup. Meanwhile, it’s less than two months since Sarri guided the west Londoners to Europa League glory.
Yet here they were, going for early glory in a match that was played at some ferocity given it was a pre-season encounter.
Perhaps it was the fact these two clubs are expected to be serious rivals in the nine months ahead.
Or the fact that the two men have points to prove after their time in England (even though they have both proved their worth) or that Conte used to manager Juventus. He has admitted this week he wasn’t close to returning.
Or the fact that so many news faces were involved. Either way, there were some International Champions Cup 2019 highlights to come.
Highlights of the game
And that is where yet more quirks of fate came into effect. For example, who would have thought Matthijs de Ligt would have marked his first start in a Bianconeri jersey with an own goal just 10 minutes in.
Not that it mattered greatly as Stefano Sensi delivered a corner which took an unlucky bounce off the luckless Dutch teenager’s shin and beat Wojciech Szczesny.
It was the breakthrough after a bright start by Inter, wherein Ivan Perisic also hit the side-netting on the counter-attack. Meanwhile, Marcelo Brozovic tested Samir Handanovic from distance.
Conte is his own worst enemy at times and his decision to seemingly disregard Perisic is yet one that could come back to bite him.
There was no doubt Inter deserved to be in front at the break but Juventus, who lost their opening ICC encounter to a last-gasp wonder goal, do not panic after being behind at the break. Sarri made three changes at half-time and their momentum improved.
After Cristiano Ronaldo and Adrien Rabiot forced saves, CR7 – who else – got the equaliser when his free-kick took a decisive deflection off Milan Skriniar in the wall and deceived substitute goalkeeper Daniele Padelli.
Ronaldo came close to a winner in normal time after rounding Padelli, only for the goalkeeper to make a fine recovery tackle in front of an empty net.
As drawn ICC matches need a winner, the contest went to a penalty shoot-out, and there was to be one more quirk of fate.
Juventus had the early initiative from the spot after Andreas Ranocchia saw the first spot-kick of the shoot-out saved and Joao Cancelo converted from 12 yards.
George Puscas restored parity but that was as close as Inter got as Ronaldo netted and Samuele Longo was denied before Emre Can made it 3-1 to the “Old Lady.”
Although Joao Mario and Nicolo Barella kept Inter in the hunt and new boy Rabiot, who impressed again, and Federico Bernardescho were unsuccessful, the Italian champions showed their clinical side when they needed it most.
Merih Demiral secured a 4-3 shoot-out victory after Borja Valero saw his sudden-death kick saved by veteran Gianluigi Buffon.
It was the legendary 41-year-old goalkeeper’s third save in the shoot-out and paved the way for Demiral to grab the winner.
The prodigal son had made a winning return.
Key statistics
Juventus have a dominant record over Inter across all competitions, with an impressive 87 wins against Inter’s 52, while the two Italian giants have drawn 50 games.
Juventus also had the better of the head to head record last season, winning 1-0 against Inter at home before later earning a 1-1 draw in the Derby d’Italia.
The biggest scoreline between the Italian giants came in 1961 as Juventus rifled home nine goals in a brutal 9-1 win.
What’s next?
Juventus now have a two-week gap before concluding their ICC campaign against Atletico Madrid, the team they knocked out of the Champions League last season after a stirring fightback and some Ronaldo brilliance. That match takes place on August 10 at the Friends Arena in Sweden.
Meanwhile, Inter play Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly this Saturday (July 27) in Macau before their final ICC match against Spurs a week on Sunday (August 4).
Don’t forget to check out the latest International Champions Cup 2019 betting odds on the SBOBET website.
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