Juventus and Inter Milan Share Spoils After Late Grygera Equalizer

With the 10-point deficit separating Juventus from the reigning Italian champions the clash was more centralized around honor than the actual points.

It was an intensive clash played at an electrifying pace and framed by some of Italy’s most passionate fans.

Mario Balotelli is no stranger to scoring against Juventus and put his team one up around the hour mark—only to have his lead cancelled out at the death my Juventus fullback Zdenek Grygera.

After a lively opening from both sides, it was Inter that had the first real chance on goal after ten minutes of play. Mario Balotelli managed to squeeze past two Juventus defenders before coming one-on-one with Gianluigi Buffon.

The Juventus goalkeeper was unable to latch onto the youngster’s low drive but a wonderful goalline clearance by Tiago kept the scoresheet clean.

Inter proved during the early stages of the game that they would not settle for a draw and just as expected Zlatan Ibrahimovic received a rather harsh welcome as the former Juventus hitman was whistled by the home crowd every time made contact with the ball.

The Swedish international had a difficult time with his marker Giorgio Chiellini and the tight marking resulted in numerous harsh challenges from both players.

On 24 minutes Balotelli dragged down Alessandro Del Piero who prior to the situation had rolled back the years for a few moments as he showcased some of his magic tricks.

Four minutes later a beautiful play by Juventus consisting of a series of passes that included almost every Bianconeri player on the field finally put Vincenzo Iaquinta through on goal. Walter Samuel was called into action and blocked the former Udinese man from getting to a one-on-one with Cesar.

The quick-paced and intensive style of play was by this time pressuring Inter back onto their own half as a confident Juventus poured forwards in numbers.

Farina awarded the homeside a free kick as Tiago was brought down outside Inter’s penalty area at the half hour mark but Del Piero’s delivery was shot straight upwards by an unmarked Zdenek Grygera who should have taken better advantage of the opportunity.

A minute later it was once again captain Del Piero that provided the ball, this time to Marco Marchionni who cheekily tried to chip the ball over Julio Cesar. The Brazilian shot-stopper was having none of it and pulled off a brilliant reflexive save to deny the right winger from close range.

On 34 minutes Balotelli picked up a loose ball inside the Juventus area and served Dejan Stankovic who unleashed a venomous shot that went just over the crossbar.

Three minutes later Figo was brought to his knees after colliding with Buffon who had timed his exit from the six-yard box to perfection. The goalkeeper was, however, once again unable to hold on the ball which trickled its way to Stankovic, but before the Serb could do anything he was taken down by Cristian Molinaro.

Inter captain Javier Zanetto and Molinaro were fighting hard in their flank and two minutes before the interval the former brought down the latter right on the edge of his area. It was the perfect opportunity for Del Piero to curl in one of his trademark free-kicks but instead the Juventus icon’s shot went straight at Cesar who had to fist the ball away.

It was still an open game after the restart and all three points were very much up for grabs.

Five minutes after the interval Balotelli received a lovely ball from Sulley Muntari which he then passed on to Ibrahimovic who set up Stankovic but the Serb’s projectile was parried away by Buffon.

On 53 minutes Inter was awarded a free-kick after Legrottaglie’s challenge on Stankovic just outside of the Juventus penalty area. Ibrahimovic stepped up to take it the shot but awkwardly slipped at the crucial moment and left nothing for his team mates to work with.

Four minutes later the Swede tried to make ammense for his error by directing a bullet header towards goal but great save from Buffon saw his former team mate denied once more.

By this time Juventus were closing down the spaces which subsequently forced Inter to play a lot of long balls into the area. Balotelli tried to dribble his way through the Juventus defense on a few occasions but despite his arsenal of tricks he was denied access over and over.

Claudio Ranieri decided to make his first change in the game around the hour mark by taking off Molinaro as he introduced local hero Paolo De Ceglie.

Just a minute later Balotelli silenced the Stadio Olimpico as he broke the deadlock with a wonderful finish.

After clearing a corner, Ibrahimovic went on the counter and passed the ball to Muntari who set up Balotelli with a perfect cross that the youngster only had to direct into the back of the net.

On 64 minutes Juventus tried for a quick comeback as Marchionni entered the area and cut back to Del Piero as the latter went on the second touch but the captain’s shot was deflected and cleared out of danger.

Six minutes later Marchionni went on a great run and passed two Inter defenders before he tried to put on past Cesar. The right winger was, however, shut down by Cesar who had timed his exit wonderfully.

On 74 minutes Ranieri made his second change in the game as Marchionni made way for David Trezeguet. With the Frenchman on the field the home side switched to 4-3-3 and the trident attack in an attempt to find the equalizer.

On the following minute Tiago received his marching orders after fouling Muntari and lashing out at Balotelli in pure frustration. Just seconds prior to the incident the Portuguese international had seen his long range effort intercepted by Samuel.

Directly after Tiago’s dismissal José Mourinho made a double substitution as Balotelli and Muntari made way for Patrick Vieira and Nicolas Burdisso in order to bring down the tempo of the game and safeguard their slim lead.

The visiting side tried to capitalize on having one extra man on the field and on 79 minutes Stankovic came tantalizingly close as he unleashed a wicked shot that had both power and precision but a heroic one-handed save from Buffon still kept Juventus hopes of salvaging a point very much alive.

A minute later Ranieri decided to make his final substitute for the evening as he took off Del Piero and brought on Sebastian Giovinco. Just a few minutes later his Inter counterpart decided to follow suit as he sent in the notorious “Juventus-killar” Julio Cruz while taking off the fatigued Figo.

Two minutes from full time Ibrahimovic zigzagged his way through the Juventus defense and fed the ball to the subbed Cruz whose shot force a brilliant save out of Buffon.

On 90 minutes there were penalty appeals from the Inter camp as Legrottaglie brought down Ibrahimovic in his excursion inside the penalty area but Farina simply waved play on to the dismay of the visiting side.

Inter may have thought that they had the win in the bag but on the following minute none right back Zdenek Grygera went from zero to hero as he directed a bullet header past Cesar—the Czech’s second this season despite—Juventus being down to 10 men.

The equalizer brought the home crowd back on their feet and into full song as Farina finally blew the whistle to end another enthralling affair.

Juventus - Inter Milan 1-1
0-1 (63) Balotelli, 1-1 (91) Grygera
Sent off: Tiago (Juventus) 75