Inter Milan vs. Juventus: 5 Things We Learned from the Derby D'Italia

The Derby d'Italia never disappoints.

But for Juventus, this derby on this Saturday night did a lot more than that.

It served as a debutante ball.

That's right: The Old Lady of Italian football is back. But now she's got a brand new set of dancing shoes.

Juventus beat Inter, 2-1, on Saturday night at the San Siro, moving back atop the Serie A table ahead of AC Milan. After watching the match, this much has to be clear to just about any observer: Antonio Conte has his team playing a tough-as-nails version of football that's incredibly hard to beat.

It's so hard to beat, in fact, that it's driven this band of roughnecks and misfits to the brink of November unbeaten.

That's nothing to sneeze at, mind you.

This is the same Juventus that returned to Serie A only four years ago; the same Juventus that lost almost all of its stars after the match-fixing scandal of 2006.

Never mind that now. This is a new Juventus with a new group of players. But it's also an old Juventus, led by a manager who's bringing the same values to his current squad that he brought back in the days when he wore the black-and-white shirt.

With two months of the season gone, it's Juventus that's becoming perhaps the most pleasant surprise in Italian football.

Juventus' Title Credentials Are Genuine

Juventus came into the weekend perched atop the Serie A table.

The Bianconeri left it the same way—except with the new-found respect of Italy in hand.

Sure, Inter are 16th in the table and have struggled all season, but a win over the Milan Giants in the traditional Derby d'Italia is impressive for the upstarts from Turin.

Juventus returned to Serie A only four years ago. In that time, though, they've developed back into one of Italy's best.

Now with Antonio Conte, a former player, serving as manager (more on him later), the Bianconeri look poised to reclaim the Scudetto they last won in 2006.

The talent is there. The manager is solid. The results are coming.

Now all they have to do is keep it up for seven more months.

Juventus Reflect the Character of Their Manager

Antonio Conte dominated Inter with passion and commitment in 13 seasons as a Juventus player. As Juventus' first-year manager, he's now inspiring the Bianconeri to do the same.

Conte developed a reputation for hard work, passion and commitment during those 13 seasons in a Juventus shirt, especially when he played Inter.

He famously got himself sent off nine minutes into a substitute appearance in 2002. More importantly, though, he helped Juventus to 11 wins in the 23 Derby d'Italias he played.

On Saturday, Juventus beat Inter by playing a style similar to that of their first-year manager. The Bianconeri didn't have anyone sent off after only nine minutes, but they did play robust, rugged football with plenty of energy and commitment.

The yellow cards shown to Chiellini and Pepe in the second half were perhaps a bit soft, but it's no coincidence that Juventus finished with five bookings—three more than Inter.

That's not to say that Juventus are a dirty team. It's actually quite the contrary. Juventus plays a clean, tough version of football that's a lot of fun to watch.

Inter Have Real Problems

Nevermind Arsenal—Inter are the real crisis club of Europe.

The Nerazzurri entered the weekend 16th in the Serie A table with two wins, two draws and four defeats. With Saturday's defeat, Inter have now lost more than half of their matches (five losses out of nine matches).

The peripheral stats aren't good, either.

Inter have scored only 11 goals through nine matches and have allowed 16. And at home, Inter has lost twice, won once and drawn once.

If Bologna (home to Atalanta) and Novara (at Lecce) win tomorrow—and neither result would be a huge surprise—Inter will be in the relegation zone.

This team has too much talent to be anywhere near the relegation zone.

So what gives?

Juventus' Defense Is a Roller Coaster

Juventus are genuine title contenders, but the drive to the title will be full of potholes.

This Bianconeri's defense, as it showed again Saturday against Inter, alternates between adventurous and harrowing.

In the 90th minute, Inter's Giampaolo Pazzini found himself with the ball in the box. He had so much space and time that he took too long to shoot, and his effort was blocked by Leonardo Bonucci.

It could—perhaps should—have been the equalizer.

It wasn't, though, and Juventus escaped.

But to make a sustained title run, Conte must do something. Even the experienced Andrea Pirlo, usually so reliable as a holding midfielder, often made careless passes that could have turned into goals against a more confident opponent.

One problem is that Giorgio Chiellini has been forced to play left back instead of his preferred central position. But the defense's frailty is not the result of one player being used in a less-than-ideal position.

Leave it broken and Juventus won't win the Scudetto. Fix it, and Juventus might even be considered the favorite.

Conte Got His Tactics Right

It took some time for Conte to drop his preferred 4-2-4 formation, but it was the right decision.

Juventus started in a formation that can loosely be described as a 4-3-3 and moved into its outstanding 4-1-4-1 with the introduction of Marcelo Alejandro Estigarribia in the second half.

The three-pronged attack worked—especially for striker Mirko Vucinic, who scored the opening goal.

The Montenegrin is not well-suited to lead the attack by himself, but he can be dangerous in the three-man forward line.