Inter Defeats Juventus 2-1 in Intense Perth Derby d’Italia
Under the bright Perth lights, a so‑called friendly between Juventus and Inter carried the familiar edge of old grudges. New faces, same hostility. Inter walked away with a 2-1 win, but this was no gentle pre-season jog.
Juventus handed debuts to Kerim Alajbegovic and Randal Kolo Muani and a first summer start to Kenan Yildiz, still buoyed by their 1-0 victory over Chelsea. Inter arrived off the back of a 1-1 draw with Milan in an Australian Derby della Madonnina, without Petar Sucic, who had flown back to Europe for the birth of his child.
Dimarco strikes, Inter settle quicker
Inter settled first. And they punished Juventus early.
Ange-Yoan Bonny burned past Wes McKennie down the left, shrugged him off and picked his moment. His low ball across the box wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. Federico Dimarco arrived, scuffed the first-time effort from around 12 yards, and still found the far bottom corner. Untidy finish, ruthless outcome.
The goal put Juventus on the back foot, and Inter sensed blood. Hakan Calhanoglu stepped up over a free kick and whipped a vicious, dipping effort that forced Michele Di Gregorio into action. Henrikh Mkhitaryan tried his luck as well, testing the Juventus goalkeeper again from distance.
Then the tide began to turn.
Douglas Luiz slipped a clever pass through the lines to Andrea Cambiaso, who had broken in behind. Instead of pulling the trigger, Cambiaso chose to pull the ball back, and the chance fizzled out. Yildiz followed up with a drilled effort that flashed just wide, a reminder that Juventus were not just there to make up the numbers.
Inter still went into the break ahead, Dimarco’s strike the difference in an Australian edition of the Derby d’Italia that was anything but soft focus.
Diouf pounces as Juve unravel
Half-time brought sweeping changes from Luciano Spalletti. Among them, the long-awaited introductions of Kolo Muani and Alajbegovic. Fresh legs, fresh intent, a different rhythm.
Yet the next decisive moment belonged to Inter again.
Andy Diouf picked up the ball in space and drove into a yawning gap between Juan Cabal and Teun Koopmeiners. The Juventus back line parted alarmingly, and Diouf didn’t need a second invitation. His angled drive at the near post should have been routine for Di Gregorio. Instead, the goalkeeper fumbled horribly, the ball squirming under his body and over the line.
Inter were 2-0 up, and Juventus had only themselves to blame – defensively slack, then betrayed by their own keeper.
The Nerazzurri could have killed it off completely. Jamal Iddrissou rolled a perfect ball across the face of goal, only for an unmarked Matteo Lavelli to lean back and balloon his finish over an open net. Alajbegovic then whipped in a teasing cross that just grazed the head of Kolo Muani, another half-chance that slipped away.
Conceição ignites late Juventus surge
Juventus finally found a spark from the bench.
Alajbegovic burst into the box with purpose, but again looked for a teammate instead of going for goal himself. The message, though, was clear: Juve were pushing now.
The breakthrough arrived on 85 minutes. Francisco Conceicao combined sharply with Fabio Miretti down the left, darted into space and lashed a powerful finish through Josep Martinez’s legs. A crisp, direct move, and suddenly the contest was alive again.
The response was immediate and fierce.
Moments after the goal, Alajbegovic forced Martinez into a save after being slipped in by Kolo Muani. The French forward then went down in a tussle with Leonardo Bovio while trying to turn from around 10 yards out, appealing for a penalty that never came. Inter held their nerve, rode out the storm and clung to their one-goal advantage.
The whistle finally went with Juventus still chasing, Inter still standing.
A friendly in name, perhaps. On the pitch, it looked and felt like something else entirely.
Full-time: Juventus 1-2 Inter
Scorers: Dimarco 20 (I), Diouf 63 (I), Conceicao 85 (J)
