Juventus 3-2 Inter: Player ratings as ten-man Juve win Derby d'Italia
By Sean Walsh
Ten-man Juventus kept their Champions League hopes alive with a late 3-2 win against new Serie A champions Inter.
The Old Lady move into fourth place but having now played one game more than Napoli in fifth - and they are only two points clear of Gennaro Gattuso's side.
Matteo Darmian brought Giorgio Chiellini down from a Juve corner after 22 minutes, and following a VAR check, the home side were awarded a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo's initial effort was saved by Samir Handanovic, but the Portuguese poacher was on hand to tap in the rebound.
Inter had VAR award them a penalty of their own ten minutes later when Matthijs de Ligt accidentally caught Lautaro Martinez's heel, and Romelu Lukaku fired home from the spot.
Juventus retook the lead in first half stoppage time when Juan Cuadrado's effort from range went through a crowd of bodies and bamboozled Handanovic.
Rodrigo Bentancur was dismissed for a second yellow card just after the break, tripping Lukaku and paying the price.
Inter pushed forward for another equaliser, and thought they had it when Lukaku bundled the ball home off Chiellini, but brought down the defender in the process and it was disallowed. However, VAR again stepped in to the Nerazzurri's rescue, and the decision was overturned.
The drama wasn't over there though, as Juventus immediately went down the other end and won another penalty after Ivan Perisic fouled Cuadrado. The Colombian stepped up and cooly converted to give Juventus a huge win.
JUVENTUS
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Wojciech Szczesny (GK) - 5/10 - Foolishly came racing off his line at the start of the second half to try and clear a ball under Danilo's control, before booting a pass straight into Lukaku. Brilliant save to deny Matias Vecino late on.
Danilo (RB) - 6/10 - Was decent enough and had to deal with a fair bit of aerial bombardment.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) - 7/10 - Harsh decision to give a penalty against him but was otherwise solid.
Giorgio Chiellini (CB) - 6/10 - Was fine for the most part but showed his age when he was outmuscled by Martinez and was forced to bring him on the edge of the penalty area.
Alex Sandro (LB) - 6/10 - Slightly worse than his right-back counterpart but not by much.
2. Midfielders
Juan Cuadrado (RM) - 8/10 - The match-winner, Juve's brightest spark all evening and deserved his two goals.
Rodrigo Bentancur (CM) - 4/10 - Two silly yellow cards. Was fortunate that it didn't cost his team in the end.
Adrien Rabiot (CM) - 6/10 - Did his job without much glamour.
Federico Chiesa (LM) - 6/10 - Been among Juve's best players this season but one of his quieter displays today.
3. Forwards
Dejan Kulusevski (CF) - 7/10 - Had an early effort cleared from close range by Milan Skriniar. Was lucky not to be sent off for a second bookable offence in the first half after colliding with Stefan de Vrij and was replaced after Bentancur's red card.
Cristiano Ronaldo (CF) - 6/10 - Missed a penalty, scored the rebound, substituted for not offering enough. Not a vintage showing.
4. Substitutes
Weston McKennie (CM) - 5/10
Alvaro Morata (CF) - N/A
Merih Demiral (CB) - N/A
INTER
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Samir Handanovic (GK) - 6/10 - Saved the pen but had little else to do.
Milan Skriniar (CB) - 7/10 - Always seemed to be in the right places at the right time.
Stefan de Vrij (CB) - 6/10 - Ditto, unfortunate to have been punished with a loss.
Alessandro Bastoni (CB) - 6/10 - Generally fine but would probably like to rewind time and get a meatier touch on Cuadrado's thumping strike. Played high up on the left when Juve went down to ten men.
6. Midfielders & wing-backs
Achraf Hakimi (RWB) - 5/10 - Wasn't an amazing performance, was very quiet even with a man advantage.
Christian Eriksen (CM) - 5/10 - Was unable to impose himself at either end of the pitch. Had a free-kick easily saved.
Marcelo Brozovic (CM) - 7/10 - Showed his worth as one of the best box-to-box midfielders around.
Nicolo Barella (CM) - 5/10 - Similar to Eriksen, failed to make his presence count.
Matteo Darmian (LWB) - 4/10 - Carelessly brought down Chiellini in the first half and was continually rash. Subbed at half-time.
7. Forwards
Lautaro Martinez (CF) - 8/10 - Was a nuisance all evening and his work-rate won Inter a penalty.
Romelu Lukaku (CF) - 7/10 - Scored a penalty and bundled another in off Chiellini.
8. Substitutes
Ivan Perisic (LW) - 5/10 - Bentancur's red card allowed Perisic to play as a forward, but was unable to have any real impact.
Stefano Sensi (CM) - N/A
Matias Vecino (CM) - N/A - His first touch of the game was a free header from close range, which Szczesny parried away.