Inter Triumphs Over Juventus in Intense Perth Derby d’Italia
On a cool night in Perth, half a world away from San Siro and the Allianz Stadium, Inter and Juventus served up a Derby d’Italia that felt anything but friendly. New faces, old grudges, familiar needle. Inter left with a 2-1 win, Juventus with a handful of regrets and a couple of intriguing debut cameos.
Dimarco pounces, Inter sharper from the start
Juventus arrived buoyed by a 1-0 win over Chelsea, handing Kenan Yildiz his first start of the summer. Inter, fresh from a 1-1 draw with Milan in the Australian Derby della Madonnina, looked like a side determined not to leave the tour without a statement.
They struck first.
Ange-Yoan Bonny burned past Wes McKennie down the left, hit the byline and slid a low ball into the box. Federico Dimarco didn’t catch it cleanly, but he didn’t need to. His scuffed first-time effort from around 12 yards snuck into the far bottom corner, Michele Di Gregorio rooted as the ball crept away from him. Inter were ahead, and deservedly so.
The Nerazzurri smelled a second. Hakan Calhanoglu unleashed a viciously dipping free-kick that Di Gregorio had to watch all the way, then Henrikh Mkhitaryan forced the Juventus goalkeeper into action again. Inter’s midfield controlled the early rhythm, pinning Juventus back.
Only then did the Bianconeri begin to stir. Douglas Luiz split the lines with a clever pass to Andrea Cambiaso, who broke clear but chose to pull the ball back instead of shooting, wasting a rare opening. Yildiz, eager to justify his start, drilled a low effort just wide as Juventus finally began to ask questions.
Spalletti rolls the dice, Diouf punishes Juve
Half-time brought a flurry of changes from Luciano Spalletti, including debuts for Randal Kolo Muani and Kerim Alajbegovic. The script, though, didn’t flip. It tilted further Inter’s way.
The second goal will haunt Di Gregorio. Andy Diouf surged into a yawning gap between Juan Cabal and Teun Koopmeiners, Juventus’ defensive shape torn apart. His angled drive from the left should have been routine, but Di Gregorio let it squirm under his body at the near post. A soft concession, a brutal punishment. Inter were 2-0 up and cruising.
Diouf’s strike capped a flowing Inter move, but it also exposed a Juventus back line still searching for cohesion. The space Diouf galloped into told its own story.
Inter could have killed it off completely. Jamal Iddrissou rolled a simple ball across goal to an unmarked Matteo Lavelli, only for the forward to lean back and balloon his finish over an open net. Before that, an Alajbegovic cross had only grazed the head of Kolo Muani, another half-chance slipping by.
Conceição ignites late fightback
Juventus, though, refused to fold. Alajbegovic, growing into the contest, burst into the box but chose to square instead of pulling the trigger himself. It felt like another moment gone. Then Francisco Conceição changed the mood.
Linking sharply with Fabio Miretti down the left, Conceição drove into the area and went for power, smashing his finish through Josep Martinez’s legs. A consolation on the scoreboard, but a lifeline in the contest. Suddenly, Inter’s control looked fragile.
The response from Juventus was immediate. Alajbegovic, now playing with real purpose, forced Martinez into a save after being slipped in by Kolo Muani. The Frenchman then demanded a penalty, going down in a tussle with Leonardo Bovio as he tried to turn from around 10 yards. The appeals were loud, the referee unmoved.
The clock bled away, Inter holding on as Juventus pressed for an equaliser that never quite arrived.
Takeaways from the Australian Derby d’Italia
For Inter, the night belonged to Dimarco’s instinct, Diouf’s drive and a midfield that, for long stretches, dictated terms. For Juventus, it was a reminder that pre-season optimism still needs defensive organisation and cleaner decision-making in both boxes.
But in Perth, in front of a crowd given a rare live taste of Italy’s fiercest rivalry, the lasting image was different: new signings and young talents throwing themselves into a so-called friendly as if it were May, not August.
If this is the tone of their summer, what happens when the points start to count?
