13 January 2022
Juve fell to defeat at the hands of Inter right at the end of extra time when a penalty shootout seemed to be on the cards. After Weston McKennie and Lautaro Martinez struck in the first half, the Super Cup winning goal was scored by Alexis Sanchez for an Inter side that did play the better football without truly turning on the style. It wasn’t a classic by any stretch, with little excitement and low levels of intensity, particularly in the second half. It came down to fine margins and Inter deserve credit for going in hunt of a winner until the very end.
MCKENNIE HEADS US IN FRONT
The game took a while to get going with both sides pressing high and forcing the other to make mistakes in building moves. For long spells there was more scrapping for the ball in midfield than quality play. Juve slowly began to find their feet and after two forward runs by Federico Bernardeschi the Bianconeri took the lead. Alvaro Morata's delivery took a deflection removing Stefan de Vrij from the equation and McKennie was on hand to nod past Samir Handanovic.
LAUTARO LEVELS FROM THE SPOT
Inter looked to respond immediately and after a couple of long-range efforts from Hakan Calhanoglu, the Nerazzurri's pressure was rewarded with a penalty following contact between Mattia De Sciglio and Edin Dzeko. Martinez powered home to make it 1-1, and that was the last action of note before the break.
JUVE SIT BACK AS INTER PLAY PASSING GAME
Adrien Rabiot’s low cross and Bernardeschi’s first-time left-footed effort that went narrowly wide were the highlights at the start of the second half before Inter took control. The Nerazzurri passed the ball around while Juve sat back and tried to close down the space. Denzel Dumfries’s header hit the bar before Mattia Perin was called into action to keep out Lautaro’s effort and an Ivan Perisic strike on the half volley. The Bianconeri struggled to string together any meaningful attacks, with Massimiliano Allegri responding by sending on Paulo Dybala and Arthur for Dejan Kulusevski and Bernardeschi. Moise Kean also entered the fray late on in place of Morata, as both teams seemed to tire and the game drifted towards extra time without any meaningful incidents in the closing stages.
SANCHEZ WINS IT WITH THE FINAL KICK
Rodrigo Bentancur came on for Manuel Locatelli at the start of the second half, while Sanchez went close to scoring from an Inter corner. Despite the substitutions, there didn’t seem to be enough energy to break the deadlock and as the clock ticked towards the 30-minute mark, nothing but penalties seemed to be on the cards. Sanchez had other ideas, however, as he made the most of uncertainty in the Juve defence to pounce on a loose ball and beat the faultless Perin, clinching the trophy for Inter with the last kick of the game.
INTER 2-1 JUVENTUS (AET)
SCORERS: McKennie 25, Lautaro Martinez 35 (pen), Sanchez 120.
INTER
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries (Darmian 89), Barella (Vidal 89), Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic (Dimarco 100); Dzeko (Correa 75), Lautaro Martinez (Sanchez 75)
Subs not used: Radu, D'Ambrosio, Vecino, Ranocchia, Kolarov, Gagliardini, Sensi.
Coach: Inzaghi.
JUVENTUS
Perin; De Sciglio, Rugani, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; McKennie, Locatelli (Bentancur 91), Rabiot, Bernardeschi (Arthur 79); Kulusevski (Dybala 74), Morata (Kean 87).
Subs not used: Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Danilo, Bonucci, Pellegrini, De Winter, Ake, Kaio Jorge.
Coach: Allegri.
REFEREE: Doveri.
ASSISTANTS: Bindoni, Imperiale.
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Fabbri.
VAR: Mazzoleni, Ranghetti.
BOOKED: Bernardeschi 43, Dzeko 60, Bentancur 105, Correa 106, Rugani 109, Vidal 118, Sanchez 120.
