‘Perfect’ Inter surprise Juve as champs drop to 5th spot
MILAN: Inter Milan shocked champions Juventus 2-0 to move level on points with Serie A leaders AC Milan on Sunday, boosting their hopes of a first league title since 2010.
Arturo Vidal got his head to a Nicolo Barella cross in the 12th minute for his first league goal for Inter Milan against his former club.
Barella added the second seven minutes after the break as Inter claimed a first victory over Juventus since Sept 2016, ending a series of seven matches without a win.
“It was a bad defeat, we didn’t expect it, we couldn’t have put in a worse performance than this,” said Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo after his second league defeat this season.
“Our attitude was wrong, right from the start. We were too passive, fearful, we only thought about the defensive phase.”
Inter were equal on 40 points with local rivals Milan, who travelled to Cagliari yesterday.
“To win against a team like Juve you have to touch perfection,” said Inter coach Antonio Conte after his first win in four meetings against the club he led to the first three of their current run of nine consecutive league titles.
“I’m happy for the lads because these are games that give you self-esteem and make you understand that we’re on the right path.
“I’ve seen a credible Inter, and it is the greatest satisfaction after a year and a half of work”.
Pirlo said: “It’s a slip-up, but our ambition remains the same, there is still a long way to go.”
RESULTS
Napoli 6 (Insigne 5, 71-pen, Demme 36, Lozano 38, Zielinski 45, Politano 89) Fiorentina 0 Sassuolo 1 (Djuricic 90+4-pen) Parma 1 (Kucka 37) Crotone 4 (Glik 5-og, Tochukwu Nwankwo 29, 54, Vulic 65) Benevento 1 (Falque 82) Atalanta 0 Genoa 0 Inter Milan 2 (Vidal 12, Barella 52) Juventus 0