Yildiz inspires Juve's comeback against Inter in historic Derby d'Italia draw

Today at 03:35 AM

This match will be talked about for years...

Sunday night's Derby d'Italia against Inter Milan was one that will echo through Serie A for decades to come. The 4-4 draw between Juve and Inter came with drama, disappointment, excitement, and nail-biting action that left fans clad in both bianconero as well as nerazzurro on the edges of their seats.

Still shorthanded by the injuries of Gleison Bremer and Nico Gonzalez, Juve manager Thiago Motta knew that this would be an uphill battle against the reigning champions of Italy. Inter have been in good form both domestically and in the Champions League ever since their shocking loss to AC Milan in September's Derby della Madonnina. However, as this season has shown, the newly-refreshed Juventus is no team to scoff at, and will take any opportunity to turn the tide of the match.

Motta employed a 4-2-3-1 formation against, as he (and the greater Juventus fanbase) are aware that the Juventus defensive line has been decimated by superstar Bremer's ACL injury earlier this month. Interestingly, Motta chose to field Timothy Weah over Kenan Yildiz at the start of the match, a controversial choice, but one that paid off through both players.

Within the first 35 minutes of the match, each team had found the back of the net twice. Inter was the first team to see the back of the net, with a disappointing penalty being awarded for Danilo's atrocious defending of Marcus Thuram in the box. Piotr Zielinski stepped up to the penalty spot and sent a screamer right down the to beat Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio and make the score 1-0 for the home side. It only added the misey for Danilo, who already has become the subject of much scrutiny after his midweek red card card and penalty giveaway against Stuttgart in the Champions League.

But not all that glitters was gold for Inter, as only five minutes later Weston McKennie was on the receiving end of a Juan Cabal across and, as he flew through the air, one-timed his pass to Dusan Vlahovic, who was able to level the score with his first goal at the San Siro. In an even more positive turn of events, only six minutes later, Francisco Conceição assisted in a brilliant goal by Timothy Weah, who made a run in from the left wing and was able to stretch out to get his right foot to the ball.

However, disaster soon struck for the Bianconeri. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was able to take a pass from Thuram and slip through the Juventus defense before unleashing a low shot past Di Gregorio to level the score at 2-2 with only 10 minutes to go before the half. But Inter was determined to go into the locker room on a positive note. During one of their presses, Pierre Kalulu, echoing the Danilo foul only 20 or so minutes prior, was the reason for another penalty attempt given to Inter, this time for poor defending of Dutchman Denzel Dumfries. Again, Zielinski made his way to the center of the box, and gave Inter a leg up with his second goal from the PK spot of the half, making the score 3-2 going right before halftime.

Energy was high coming out of the break after such an electric first half. Inter again began a salvo of pressure on the shorthanded and discouraged Juventus defensive line, during which time Danilo was shown an inevitable yellow card. Only eight minutes into the second half, calamity struck Juventus again, as Dumfries scored Inter's fourth goal from just right of the box, which to many seemed to be the sealing of Juventus' fate in this 252nd rendition of the Derby d'Italia.

Knowing that it was time for a change, Motta called for substitutions less than ten minutes after what would be Inter's last goal of the match. Weah and Nicolo Fagioli came off, replaced by the fresh legs of Turkish wunderkind Kenan Yildiz and young fullback Nicolo Savona. Inter responded with their own substitutions, followed by a pair of dangerous chances that were both saved by Di Gregorio.

From this moment on, Yildiz performed what could only be described as poetry in motion. His first goal came off a pass from McKennie close to the center circle, finding Juve's young No. 10 in stride making a run down the left channel. Barreling down the pitch, Yildiz remained calm as three Inter players descended upon him, and only a few feet into the box, sunk a left0footed shot that brought the Bianconeri's third goal to fruition and cut the deficit to 3-2.

But Yildiz was not done for the night.

After both managers made another round of subs which saw Federico Gatti brought on for Danilo as well as Samuel Mbangula replacing Vlahovic, there was a growing sense that the tying goal could be coming.

Of course, it did.

In the 82nd minute, Conceição launched a cross intended for anyone taking up space in the Inter box, but it wasn't fully headed clear by a defender. Yildiz, in the most composed and calm nature possible, controlled the loose ball and set up for another left-footed shot and slipped it past Inter keeper Yan Sommer to tie the game at 4-4.

With only a few minutes remaining plus added time, the score remained, even with a last effort from Davide Frattesi in the 91st minute. The final whistle finally sounded, and so ended a match that will be spoken about for years to come, with eight total goals, 28 total shots, and two fan bases needing something to calm their heart rates.

LE PAGELLE

Michele Di Gregorio - 6. Penalties are always a gamble, and the majority of the time are not the fault of the keeper. The former Monza man was put through the ringer in this match, but aside from the two penalties, performed quite decently against a very dangerous Inter side, including his pair of big saves before the Yildiz-centered comeback.

Andrea Cambiaso - 6.5. Cambiaso is a highly versatile player. From key passes to crosses to a passing accuracy of almost 97%, he again showed that he's a Swiss Army knife playing a sa fullback and then a more advanced role later on in the second half.

Pierre Kalulu - 4.5. Every player makes mistakes. However, the Frenchman's role in the second Inter PK of the first half was wildly unnecessary. Other than that he was solid, if not a bit shaken by his earlier mistake. Kalulu has been invaluable to Juve this season, and one cannot let a single poor defending moment tarnish what has been a wonderful start.

Danilo - 3.5. Winning a few ariels is one thing, but to give away extremely avoidable penalties in back-to-back matches is a cause for serious concern. The Brazilian may be showing that being 33 years old and 15 years of playing for top-tier clubs and over a decade with the Brazilian national team may be catching up with him. Time will tell, but his recent form certainly must have the Juventus coaching staff scrambling for answers.

Juan Cabal - 5. The Colombian, along with all other members of Juventus' defense, are clearly doing what they can when it comes to the club's best player being out injured. Cabal performed moderately well for the situation that any fullback has been put into.

Manuel Locatelli - 6. Locatelli performed well, not his best, but was successful with nearly 90% of his passes as well as almost every one of the 10 long balls he attempted. He also had a pair of tackles and blocked two shots.

Weston McKennie - 6.5. Registering two assists is no easy feat, and the American was crucial in Juve attaining a result. However, McKennie seems to drift from time to time defensively, though overall his performance was quite good.

Francisco Conceição 7.5. Showed off his speed and dribbling ability plenty of times, including the movement that provided the assist on Weah's goal to put Juve up 2-1. Excitement for him to get more playing time has been building ever since his first couple of Juve appearances, and his performances have been stellar.

Nicolo Fagioli - 5. His performance against Inter was OK, but Fagioli touched the ball just 19 times and failed to provide big chances for his teammates. More is expected from him as he enters the middle of this first full season back after his gambling suspension.

Timothy Weah - 6. Attempted two shots and scored Juve's second goal of the first half to go with an overall high passing accuracy as he got the start on the left wing. Weah was, however, the cause of an error that led up to an Inter goal thanks to a bad turnover.

Dusan Vlahovic - 6.5. The Serbian striker was on the receiving end of McKennie's first assist of the day, but that proved to be his only shot of the night. He finished with just 19 touches before being replaced in the second half.

SUBSTITUTES

Kenan Yildiz - 8.5. The wunderkind Turk is proving time and time again that he not only wants to be a great squad member, he wants — and has the talent — to be world class. His two second-half goals allowed Juve to get the draw after he entered the field with his team down 4-2, and on a personal level he was more than jubilant to be able to find the net at the San Siro, channeling the likes of his personal hero and number-sake, Alessandro Del Piero. Without a doubt, Yildiz was the savior of this match.

Samuel Mbangula - 6. It is hard to come in for Vlahovic after his opening goal, and it is even more difficult to have a noteworthy performance whilst the Yildiz show is in full effect.

Khephren Thuram - 5.5. The Thuram Derby did not turn out to be that much of a brother versus brother situation, as Khephren was a late substitute, and Marcus left the pitch shortly after.

Nicolo Savona - 5. Making his first Derby d'Italia appearance, Savona registered a clearance, a key pass, and won both of the aerial and ground duels he was involved in. He is still young, and if his performance this season is any indicator, will be a solid contributor to the team once he gains more experience at this level.

Federico Gatti 5 - Coming on with less than 20 minutes to go in the match, it is difficult to get a read on Gatti's performance. The question on the minds of many was why Gatti did not come in earlier for Danilo, as the Brazilian has been giving an absolute sub-par performance.

MANAGER ANALYSIS

The deck has been stacked against Thiago Motta this season. From injuries to key players, to suspensions in both Serie A and the Champions League, Motta has been trudging up a very difficult hill to climb as he tries to implement his style of play at Juve. His decision of a four-man back line came from necessity, and one can only wonder what the result would have been if Bremer was healthy.

Overall, Motta knew that this may be the most difficult match of the season to date, and did what he believed best to mitigate damage. But look at what the man is up against. Aside from injuries, Motta's predecessor coached the team into five domestic titles, five Coppa Italia titles, and two appearances in the Champions League final, albeit it most of during his first tenure in Turin. The role of manager at any historically high-performing Italian club, specifically Serie A's most successful club, is always going to be rife with pressure, criticism, and a duty to uphold the team's winning tradition.

But, unlike his predecessor, Motta is honest about mistakes and where the team could improve. After the match, Motta — who has never been one to mince words — told the media "we can improve on everything, today we suffered in the defensive phase against a strong team."

Coincidently, Inter manager Simone Inzaghi stated that the Nerazzurri could have scored "seven or eight goals" because they had so many scoring chances.

Motta is doing what he can with the hand that he has been dealt, and if this match is any indication of the kind of spirit Juve will have in big matches to come, fans should be cautiously optimistic.

LOOKING AHEAD

Juventus' busy schedule continues with two more matches over the next seven days. The first is Wednesday night against 17th-place Parma, and the second is next Saturday against a surprisingly composed Udinese that is currently sitting in seventh. After that is the first midweek fixture of November, with a Champions League matchup against Lille, who sit in fourth place in Ligue 1.