Post by Taxigirl on Nov 30, 2003 9:30:12 GMT
Cruz 12, 69 (I), Martins 75 (I), Montero 89 (J)
Stadio Delle Alpi
Julio Cruz bagged a brace as Inter shock the leaders on home turf with their first win here since 1993.
This result breaks several records, as Juve were unbeaten in all competitions so far this season. Looking at their meetings at the San Siro as well, Inter had not beaten Juventus since 1998.
Inter had not won in Turin for a decade, in that time scoring just one goal with a Christian Vieri penalty. The former Juventus hitman could not take part after bruising his back in the humiliating 5-1 home defeat to Arsenal midweek.
Fabio Cannavaro and Marco Materazzi also suffered a setback during that Champions' League encounter, so Daniele Adani and Carlos Gamarra stepped in to the back three.
Juventus kept faith with Alessandro Del Piero on his return from a long-term calf injury, leaving the on form Marco Di Vaio on the bench, but surprisingly also left Gianluca Zambrotta on the sidelines.
Inter started positively with a couple of explosive Obafemi Martins runs, while Pavel Nedved also made his presence known in the opening minutes. The Czech international was hacked down by Ivan Cordoba early on and tried to run off the injury.
On ten minutes Martins sprinted past Paolo Montero and was brought down just outside the box, but Inter's appeals for a red card as last man were waved away.
It proved a decisive free kick anyway, as Julio Cruz slammed in a stunning set-piece to give Inter the lead. The Argentine has a long history of scoring against Juventus and curled the ball into the top corner.
Juve fought back and Francesco Toldo came out to punch away a dangerous Nedved free kick as David Trezeguet threatened at the back post.
But Inter were confident and Javier Zanetti shaved the woodwork with a fierce strike from distance.
The Bianconeri had a golden opportunity to draw level on the half-hour mark when a free kick was deflected into the path of Mauro Camoranesi, but incredibly the Italian international ballooned it over the bar from six yards.
Moments later Trezeguet was ready to volley in following some wonderful Nedved approach play, but Cordoba bravely flung himself between the Frenchman and the goal.
Instead Inter could have doubled their lead when Martins nodded down to Andy van der Meyde and the Dutchman hesitated before his shot was deflected wide.
Marcello Lippi had to spice up his sluggish side and threw on their top scorer Marco Di Vaio for the second half in place of the anonymous Camoranesi, fielding a trident attack plus Nedved.
It didn't seem to make a big difference in the opening stages, as the absence of the injured Gianluca Zambrotta was sorely felt on the left flank.
Nedved was also particularly disappointing and fired a weak effort over following Lilian Thuram's cutback.
Inter wasted another opportunity when Gamarra turned a completely free header wide of the far post. Emre Belozoglu came on to give the visitors greater consistency and creativity in the midfield.
The first time Alessandro Del Piero really made his mark was on 58 minutes, but his low drive at the near post was easily gathered by Toldo.
There was panic in the Juve box when Gianluigi Buffon just managed to tackle Martins, then Cruz saw his follow-up deflected over the bar of an open goal.
The Nerazzurri remained the more dangerous side and doubled their lead with Cruz. The Jardinero had his first drive parried by Buffon, but the goalkeeper could do nothing on the follow-up.
Cruz is very familiar with the Bianconeri colours, as he first caught the attention of Serie A by scoring a brace against them with Feyenoord.
Juve threw on Fabrizio Miccoli in a desperate bid to get back into the game and replaced Nedved, who never quite seemed to recover from that early knock.
But it left them horribly unbalanced and Obafemi Martins finally got his name on the scoresheet. Nicola Legrottaglie's poor first touch let in the Nigerian and he slid a low drive through Buffon's legs.
Juventus had scant consolation in the final minute when a corner kick was cleared off the line but came back to Paolo Montero for a decisive header.
That was the first goal conceded by Alberto Zaccheroni's Inter so far this season and ensures the Bianconeri have scored at least once on home turf for 35 consecutive games.
There was controversy late on when Montero appeared to strike out at Emre with his arm, but despite already being booked the Uruguayan defender stayed on the field.
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Juventus: Buffon; Thuram, Montero, Legrottaglie, Birindelli; Camoranesi (Di Vaio 46), Appiah (Conte 69), Tacchinardi, Nedved (Miccoli 71); Del Piero, Trezeguet
Inter: Toldo; Cordoba, Gamarra, Adani; J Zanetti, C Zanetti, Almeyda, Pasquale (Brechet 88); van der Meyde (Emre 57), Cruz (Recoba 81), Martins
Ref: Trefoloni
