Juventus 1-1 Chievo Verona:
I Bianconeri have continued their slow start to Serie A by barely picking up a point against Chievo Verona. The reigning Serie A and Coppa Italia champions have struggled mightily this season amid the departures of top players Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez. With two straight losses in the league, they scraped a draw through a late Dybala penalty that held the resurgent Chievo Verona back from taking a surprising first place in the league.
Coming into this season, Juventus had changed up their squad with some major sales and big purchases in the transfer market. To replace the veteran leadership of Pirlo, Tevez and Vidal, Juve decided to buy and bring in younger talents such as Dybala, Zaza, Rugani and Cuadrado alongside players such as Mandzukic and Khedira. The immediate impact of these changes has not been strong as Juventus have only managed to pick up one point in three matches with losses to Roma and Udinese. Meanwhile, Chievo Verona have shocked the league by picking up two straight wins in their first two matches alongside a draw against Juventus. Despite historically being a mid to low table team, Chievo Verona are certainly pulling above their weight so far.
Chievo opened up right away to stun the hosts through a long shot by Perparim Hetemaj in the fifth minute. Despite going down early, Juventus managed to create chances through new player Hernanes and attacking midfielder Pereyra, but it was not enough to break through Chievo goalkeeper Bizarri. At the very last, summer signing Cuadrado came up big by dribbling his way into the box and drawing a penalty to save face for the champions. Dybala fired home, giving the home side its first point of the new campaign.
Inter Milan 1-0 A.C. Milan
Inter have claimed the first spoils of the heated Milan derby against their historical intercity rivals, A.C. Milan. Guarin led the way for the 18-time Scudetto winners with a rifled shot from outside the box in the 58th minute. Despite a great substitute appearance from controversial striker Mario Balotelli in the second half, I Rossoneri didn’t have enough to prevent their bitter rivals from climbing into first on the league table.
Inter Milan have taken the league by storm so far this season as they have made an unexpected title run, picking up three straight wins out of their first three matches. With both Milan teams still in a rebuilding phase, it is certainly a surprise that I Nerazzurri have managed to click together so quickly. With new signings such as Stevan Jovetic, Felipe Melo and Ivan Perisic, they have managed to field a very competitive team in a short time. In contrast, Milan is still showing the growing pains of its new team. With its third coach in two years, the club is seeking stability under former Sampdoria manager Sinisa Mihajlovic. The club has also made a splash in the transfer market by picking up team veterans Balotelli on loan and forward Adriano as well as youngers such as Kucka, Bertolacci and Romagnoli.
The match started off with A.C. Milan dominating play and taking the game to their inter-city rivals. Big saves from Handanovic kept Inter going while Jovetic and Icardi created chances on the other end. Coming into the second half, Fredy Guarin managed to put Inter ahead. The Colombian midfielder broke the deadlock with a beautiful long range goal to seal victory for his side. Despite Balotelli coming close on multiple occasions for Milan, Inter managed to hang on for a memorable victory.
