Juventus vs. Inter in the „Derby d‘ Italia“ – The Story of a great love

Derby d'Italia between Juventus Turin and Inter Milan (1:0) – This game took place on February 16, 2025, in the Italian Serie A for the 253rd time. It endet up with a surprise. 

A real experience at Football trips Juventus Turin is the intro with the anthem “Storia di un grande Amore” (Eng.: "The Story of a Great Love").

The first chants for the derby were already sung by Juventus' fans last Tuesday, during their 2:1 workmanlike win in the Champions League playoffs to the Round of 16 against PSV Eindhoven. 

This seemed to be the right motivation, as "the old lady" secured their first home win in the "Derby d'Italia" since November 6, 2022.

Goal Festival in the First Leg

In the almost legendary first leg in Milan in October 2024, a 4:4 draw was forced. 

In the 253rd derby between these two star clubs, which together hold 56 Italian championship titles (20 of them for Inter), this was the 113th win for the "Bianconeri," as the team from Turin is also known.

Inter Milan had won 77 times. 

Why "Derby d'Italia"?

The rivalry in the "Derby d'Italia" has intensified since 2006 after Juventus Turin’s forced relegation due to match-fixing scandals – the “Scudetto” was awarded to second-place Inter.

Until then, neither of the two big clubs had ever been relegated from Serie A. 
This term was invented – similar to the "German Classic" FC Bayern vs. BVB – by a journalist. 

It was Giovanni “Gianni” Brera (1919 – 1992) who coined the term with regard to the dominance of these two clubs in the 1960s, each winning two titles for Juventus Turin and two for Inter.

791 days after the World Cup final in Qatar, Randal Kolo Muani, French new signing from Juventus Turin from PSG, and Inter’s Argentine World Cup champion Lautaro Martinez faced each other again. 

This time, the points went to the former Frankfurt striker Kolo Muani. He set up the decisive 1:0 for Francisco Conceicao in the 74th minute. It was the 3rd goal of the season for the Portuguese, two of them coming in the last three games. And this goal will be talked about in Juventus fan circles for a long time.

Maybe this will even be a story with a happy ending for Kolo Muani, who is on loan from Paris.

Anyway, Juventus celebrated their fourth competitive win of the season and prevented Inter Milan from climbing to the top of the table.

Inter misses out on the Table Lead 

Table leaders SSC Napoli had already played a 2:2 draw at Lazio Rome on February 15, 2025 (Saturday), but the "Nerazzurri" missed too many chances in Turin.

Denzel Dumfries (13th minute) missed a header from a Lautaro Martinez assist from close range, which could have given Inter the lead. 

Juventus’ first big chance was missed by Kolo Muani (32nd minute), who shot just wide of the crossbar from eleven meters. Just three minutes later, Lautaro missed a shot from five meters for the guests from Milan, one that the World Cup winner simply had to convert.

Thus, the traditionally intense game went back and forth, with two top teams waiting for the decisive mistake. 

That mistake came from Inter! Five Milan players couldn’t stop Kolo Muani during his dribble in the penalty area, and the Frenchman managed to pass the ball while falling to Conceicao, who finished powerfully from 8 meters – 1:0.

With this derby win, Juventus jumped to fourth place, but with a 10-point deficit to Napoli, only another Champions League qualification is realistically possible for the Black-and-Whites. 

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi surprised with two of his substitutions. He took Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Dimarco off the field, bringing on Carlos Augusto and Nicola Zalewski (62nd / 80th minute). However, the tide could not be turned. "I did what was necessary," Inzaghi defended his substitutions at the press conference after the game, "in the first half and the first quarter of the second half, I saw how the team was suffering."

Which Opponents Will Juventus Turin Face at Allianz Stadium?

In Serie A, Juventus Turin will face Atalanta Bergamo on March 9, 2025, another top-4 team. The penultimate home game will be on April 27, 2025, against Monza Calcio, before meeting Udinese Calcio on matchday 37, the second-to-last round of the season.