Juventus outlast Inter in Derby d’Italia full of remarkable goals

As the first Derby d’Italia of the 2025-26 season wound to a close, my mind kept on drifting to professional wrestling.

(Just go with me on this one for a second …)

Pro wrestling has developed a unique slang that both performers and fans use to describe things that go on during a show. The term that kept flying into my mind as the clock ticked down at the Allianz Stadium was “spotfest.”

A spotfest is a wrestling match that delivers multiple big moments (called spots) to get a reaction (a pop) from the

crowd. Often, a spotfest is a gimmick match, a match with a specific stipulation or set of rules, such as a ladder or cage match. They invariably involve multiple extreme stunts, often resulting in performers taking a dangerous landing (a bump, or, depending on how dangerous it is, a sick bump), or the use of something as a weapon that could cause real (legit) damage to a performer (a notorious example is slamming an opponent into a bed of thumbtacks). The rest of the match tends to serve the development of the biggest spots (or high spots).

Amongst fans, the term is often used as a pejorative, to describe a match that had to rely on high spots to compensate for the fact that the wrestlers involved are not particularly skilled. That being said, when two highly skilled performers are put in a setting that could produce a spotfest, it can become one of the greatest matches you’ve ever seen.

Juventus’ 4-3 victory over archrivals Inter on Saturday was very much the latter type. Each of the seven goals was brilliant in one way or another. As opposed to last year’s 4-4 epic between the two clubs at the San Siro, which was very much the former kind of spotfest full of defensive errors and penalty kicks, this one was downright beautiful. There was Hakan Çalhanoglu taking two fantastic long-range hits for Inter. Lloyd Kelly — Lloyd Kelly!! — volleying in a cross-body cross by Bremer. Kenan Yildiz ripping a long-range shot of his own and dropping a perfect free kick assist. And, of course, just as stoppage time began, 19-year-old Vasilije Adzic — a surprise substitute who had racked up all of 70-something minutes with the first team since signing last summer — launching a 30-plus yard missile from almost a standstill to give Juve all three points in dramatic fashion. Every score was a feast for the eyes.

All in all, it was one of the most entertaining and dramatic Derby d’Italia in recent memory, one that Juve walked away from with all three points.

Igor Tudor had a new toy available in Loïs Openda, but fellow Deadline Day signing Edon Zhegrova sat out as he gained match fitness following his long-term injury last season. Fabio Miretti, Arkadiusz Milik, and Francisco Conceição were also on the shelf, while Andrea Cambiaso sat out the second of a two-match ban from his red card in the season opener. Tudor pulled a little surprise when he modified his formation to a 3-5-1-1. Michele Di Gregorio anchored the lineup, screened by Federico Gatti, Bremer, and Kelly. Pierre Kalulu remained on the right wing, while Weston McKennie started opposite him. Teun Koopmeiners, Manuel Locatelli, and Khéphren Thuram started in midfield, the two box-to-box mids forming a diamond with Yildiz in the hole. Dusan Vlahovic started after scoring twice in the first two matches off the bench.

Cristian Chivu was already facing some pressure after losing to Udinese before the international break, but he had a full team to choose from, giving him a deep bench. Chivu kept the 3-5-2 going for the Nerazzurri. Yann Sommer took up his position in goal, defended by the trio of Manuel Akanji, Federico Acerbi, and Alessandro Bastoni. Denzel Dumfries and Carlos Augusto manned the wings, bracketing Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, and Nicolò Barella. Lautaro Martinez joined Marcus Thuram in the strike pair. It was the first time that both Thuram brothers were in the starting XI for a derby.

The theme of the game was established in the fourth minute by Barella, who lashed an excellent volley that skipped past the post with an inch or so to spare.

Juve’s first opportunity came 13 minutes in, when Yildiz jumped Çalhanoglu deep in the Inter half and laid a beautiful pass into the path of a diagonal run from Kalulu. A desperate lunge by Augusto just barely managed to get a foot into the path of the shot, and when the rebound dropped to Vlahovic, whose shot was denied by Acerbi. The ensuing corner was headed out, but McKennie managed to keep the ball in the attacking third. He got the ball to Locatelli, who lofted a great diagonal ball to the right channel. Bremer picked the ball out of the air and sent it back across the box, where it met Kelly, who volleyed the ball back across the grain into the bottom corner, rooting Sommer to the spot.

Juve’s response to going ahead was slightly concerning, as they started to drop back into their own half and ceded almost all the possession to the visitors. Before the goal, they had maintained 57 percent of possession, but from the goal halftime Inter had the ball 75 percent of the time.

Juve did manage a few chances before Inter tied the game. A run down the left by Yildiz was followed by a beautiful ball into the box into the path of Vlahoic, but Acerbi had a step on him and was able to clear it behind. Then in the 29th minute Locatelli rushed onto a loose ball and unleashed a shot from 25 yards. It pinballed first off Mkhitaryan, then off Çalhanoglu, which turned it back in the direction of the goal, flying only just wide.

The double whammy of failing to double the lead and dropping two deep finally caught Tudor on the half-hour. An exchange of passes on the left led to Augusto laying the ball back for Çalhanoglu. There wasn’t a white shirt within 3 yards of him, and he slammed a left-footed first-time shot from the top of the arc into the bottom corner, leaving Di Gregorio no chance to get there.

Juve needed to respond, and they did come out a little bit more than they had before the equalizer. Eight minutes after Çalhanoglu scored. Yildiz decided he wasn’t about to let him be the only Turk with some crazy highlights. He took a simple pass from Bremer, turned, and unleashed a shot from close to 30 yards away. It bent away from Sommer, who could only get fingertips to it as the ball nestled into the bottom corner. The 20-year-old nearly added to his reel with what would have been an excellent assist, but Koopmeiners badly scuffed his pullback.

As the second half began, Juventus again went into a shell, daring Inter to play through their organized defense. For the most part Inter were left playing around the box as opposed to into it and taking the occasional shot from distance.

The problem: shooting from distance is how Hakan Çalhanoglu do.

It took 20 minutes for Inter to finally crack through, but within a minute of putting on a triple substitution Çalhanoglu made Chivu look like a genius. Marcus Thuram headed a cross from Bastoni back across the box, forcing Bremer into action. He cleared the ball as far as he could under pressure, but Piotr Zielinski was at the other end and he headed the ball back to Çalhanoglu, who again had no one within three yards of him. He then executed an even more difficult shot than his first goal, chesting the ball down and then hitting a volley that skipped into the goal before Di Gregorio could do more than twitch in its direction. The goalkeeper’s exasperation with his defense was clear when he threw up his hands wondering why his teammates continued to leave the midfielder so free at the top of the box.

Inter had their ears pinned back at this point, and Tudor was starting to puzzle some onlookers with his decision not to make any subs at this point. He finally went to his bench with 17 minutes to go, sending on Openda along with Adzic and a returning Juan Cabal. But they had barely dug their cleats into the turf when Inter took the lead.

Inter’s own triple sub just before their equalizer had had some effects on the balance of the game, particularly on the left, where Federico Dimarco had managed to become an outlet for some strong runs. Another such run was interrupted by McKennie, who forced a corner in the 76th minute. The wing-back sent in a cross and found Marcus Thuram, who had gotten himself a pocket of space between Kalulu and Cabal and rose above everyone for a bullet header that flashed past Di Gregorio to give Inter their first lead of the game.

It lasted all of seven minutes, and it was cut down by the most appropriate of Juventini.

Yildiz sent a free kick in from the right side, and Khéphren Thuram was there to meet it after getting in front of Akanji and Zielinski for what amounted to a free header. He slammed it into the ground and into the net at the right-hand post, setting off a frenzy in the Allianz and tying the game at 3-3.

But the most special finish in a game of special finishes was saved for the first minute of stoppage time. The final sequence actually started with a mistake by Khéphren Thuram, who had lost the ball to Ange-Yoan Bonny in midfield. But the Frenchman’s poke only sent the ball to Jonathan David, who laid the ball back to Adzic. The young Montenegrin settled the pass and then, with no run-up, unleashed a thunderbolt from even farther out than Yildiz was when he scored. The ball screamed through the air, seemingly picking up speed halfway through its flight, and blasted through the hands of a soaring Sommer and into the net, upping the level in the stadium from frenzy to explosion.

Inter complained that Thuram had fouled Bonny, but a VAR review confirmed the goal, finishing a snap comeback. An extra minute of stoppage time came after the celebration and review, and in that extra minute Inter managed to force two last-gasp corners, but when Marcus Thuram headed the ball wide with the last touch of the game, Juve could celebrate a huge win in their first huge game of the season.

LE PAGELLE

MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 6. Didn’t have a chance on any of Inter’s goals, and otherwise commanded his box well on crosses and made the only save he was forced to make.

FEDERICO GATTI – 6. Made six clearances and blocked a shot. Was the only starter to reach 90 percent in pass completion.

BREMER – 6.5. Made eight clearances and didn’t let much of anything happen in his areas. Utterly stifled Lautaro.

LLOYD KELLY – 7. What a freaking finish. I mean, how on earth did he manage that? He was always available as an option in the attack. He was also the only member of the back three to record a tackle (he had two) and added in five clearances. But this game is all about the goal.

PIERRE KALULU – 5.5. Made three tackles and made a couple of really nice offensive runs, including one that would have been a goal had Augusto not made a great play. But his marking on Marcus Thuram’s goal left a lot to be desired.

TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 4. Attempt No. 1 with yet another role didn’t stick, either. Utterly absent going forward, except for when he was teed up beautifully by Yildiz and scuffed his shot in the worst way.

MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6. Made a game-high six tackles and added five clearances. At one point he was faced up at the top of the box with Lautaro and forced him to dump the ball off. Passing out of the press could’ve been better, but he came oh-so-close to a goal when he pinballed a shot off two defenders.

KHÉPHREN THURAM – 7.5. Carried the ball through midfield well, but the focus of the day will be the goal, which was perfectly taken and came at such a perfect time. His star continues to rise.

WESTON McKENNIE – 5.5. Kept a few attacks alive, including the one that led to the first goal, but apart from sending Yildiz down the field once or twice didn’t have a whole ton of impact on the offensive side. Made three tackles and two clearances on the back end.

KENAN YILDIZ – 8. We may be witnessing his evolution into a full-blown superstar. His goal was of ridiculous quality, from a distance that made you wonder what possessed him to have a go. He notched four key passes — including his perfectly-delivered assist — and could’ve had a few more had a defender not been more alert or, in one case, a teammate had actually executed.

DUSAN VLAHOVIC – 5.5. Tudor’s decision to drop back with the lead left him incredibly isolated. Only touched the ball 14 times in 73 minutes, and the majority of those saw him get swarmed by the defense before help arrived. He did take a stab at redirecting Kelly’s shot on the opening goal, but showed his team spirit by being the first to reach Kelly to celebrate. Did the same for Adzic’s goal off the bench.

SUBS

LOÏS OPENDA – 5.5. Didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities for a clear shot or to use his pace to blow the top off the defense. But he was active and showed signs that a few weeks to build chemistry could see him combine nicely with the other attackers.

JUAN CABAL – 5. Gets the same demerit that Kalulu does for his marking on Inter’s third goal, and really didn’t add anything in attack beside a blast over the bar.

VASILIJE ADZIC – 7. My goodness. He had been on the periphery of things for most of the match before going BOOM out of absolutely nowhere. He had some impressive performances with the NextGen late last year, and if he takes a step forward and becomes a productive option in midfield it would add a whole new weapon to the team’s attack. Oh, and he made a couple of key clearances in the moments after he scored to seal the win he’d just earned.

JONATHAN DAVID – NR. Credited with the assist on the winner with a lay back to Adzic, making the most of one of his six touches.

JOAO MARIO – NR. Helped earn the free kick that resulted in Thuram’s equalizer, but only had eight touches after his late introduction.

MANAGER ANALYSIS

Tudor showed some good and some bad in this game. He clearly decided to make a tactical adjustment, saying in his press conference after the game that he’d intended to create a midfield diamond with his 3-5-1-1. The game’s events conspired to make that intention much less evident than it might’ve been, but Tudor’s willingness to make that kind of experiment, even in a massive game like the derby, is a positive sign.

Of course, his decision to drop deep after Juve took the lead twice in the first half was a contributing factor in the diamond not being as apparent as it might’ve been. There were times when all 11 players were behind the ball, and while there were stretches where it was extremely successful at keeping Inter playing laterally, the risk of one big moment—like, say, Çalhanagolu’s goals—ruining your day is much higher.

The result was predictable, because it left Vlahovic far too isolated up top, and was forcing Juve to break all three of Inter’s lines before being able to truly mount a counterattack.

Tudor’s subs were also questionable. Yes, they ended up winning the game with Adzic, but they came a bit too late — especially David and Openda, who could have formed a potent tandem to help extend the lead by blowing the top off the defense. The moves should’ve come a bit earlier, and that would’ve helped Juve keep hold of a little bit more possession and maybe have put the game away early.