A Derby d'Italia this early in the season has its risks in terms of entertainment for the neutral, but there was no sign of any rustiness here in the 208th competitive edition of this tradition-steeped fixture, with both sides getting off to a positive start.
Despite Inter edging the initial skirmishes, the home side found themselves ahead just before the quarter-hour mark, as the Nerazzurri defence failed to clear a corner, and the ball was sent back into the box, where Lloyd Kelly volleyed home from Bremer’s pull-back.
Undeterred after falling behind, Inter continued to probe and did level the scores on the half-hour mark after Carlos Augusto picked out Hakan Calhanoglu on the edge of the box, and the Turkish international powered the ball home into the far corner.
Both teams continued to pose a threat as half-time neared, and the Bianconeri went into the break 2-1 up after Kenan Yildiz produced a moment of magic on 38 minutes, after collecting the ball from 35 yards out, turned and unleashed a bullet into the back of the net.
Cristian Chivu’s men looked the better side after the restart, with the Nerazzurri dominating possession. Calhanoglu remained Inter’s biggest threat, and after rifling a shot narrowly over, he produced a contender for goal of the match via a stunning effort.
With the ball pinballing in the box, Piotr Zielinski nodded towards Calhanoglu on the edge of the box, and he chested the ball in the air before firing a stunning volley past Michele Di Gregorio. Inter completed the turnaround on 76 minutes after Federico Dimarco’s corner was headed home by Marcus Thuram.
As if the rivalry alone didn’t have enough story, Marcus Thuram’s younger brother Khephren Thuram equalised for Juve in the 83rd minute with his head too from Yildiz’s free-kick into the box.
The drama did not end there, however, as Vasilije Adzic chimed in with his own contender for goal of the match and perhaps will win that award along with the points for Juve as he powered home a screamer from 30 yards out.
That proved to be the winning goal in a thrilling encounter that sees Juve pick up three wins from three - a first hat-trick of wins to start the new season since 2018/19, while Chivu’s men have suffered back-to-back defeats and questions will be asked of the newly-appointed Romanian.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kenan Yildiz (Juventus)
