Inter have played out a 1-1 draw with Juventus after VAR was used incorrectly. A late penalty was awarded to Juventus costing Inter the win.
A night where Inter led for most of the match and could’ve been ahead further at the half way mark. Unfortunately a penalty right before the 90th minute would mean both teams walk away with a point each.
Let’s look a bit further into the match.
Referees and VAR!
We are going to start with the most controversial points of the match as I think some decisions cost the fans a great spectacle. There’s a bit of a sour taste in my mouth after that match.
The first controversial moment of the match was right before the half time whistle. A handball shout from a corner as Dzeko attempted to head the ball towards goal. Arms in the air from a couple of the Juventus defenders, but there was no VAR check.
Instead the referee called for half time and the players walked off the field. There wasn’t a slow motion replay and life went on. If this was a Juventus appeal, would we have seen the same result?
The second controversial moment is the penalty which sealed the result. The issue I have with this is the referee saw it clearly and waved play on. VAR is there to intervene when a foul is completely missed as the referee usually doesn’t have vision of the scenario.
It is not for a different interpretation, that’s where we have to draw the line. In this scenario, VAR shouldn’t have said anything as Alex Sandro did not have control of the ball and even though there was contact, it was not enough to overturn the original decision.
The question has been asked, “do you think it’s a penalty if it was down the other end?”. The answer is that Inter will never get that decision in their favour. There have been plenty of those situations where Inter have not received a penalty for identical fouls. It’s even happened a few times already this season and nothing was called.
There are only a handful of teams in Serie A who get that call. Let’s not forget Calciopoli. Need I say more.
Those subs –
Today our bench really held us back from extending the lead even further. The substitutions of Gagliardini, Dumfries and Sanchez were close to appalling. We really need better depth if those are the guys we have coming into the match to keep momentum going.
I thought Hakan and Perisic were close to our two best players on the pitch today, yet they were the first to make way. I especially would’ve let Perisic see out the 90 today as he would’ve taken advantage of Cuadrado being taken off for Dybala.
Instead Darmian gets swapped to the left and we have the liability Dumfries take his side on the right. I know people keep saying “let him adapt”, but adapting has nothing to do with the stupidity today.
Giving a referee the opportunity to blow a penalty against your team is completely unacceptable. All defenders know when you are in your own box that you DO NOT THROW A FOOT IN! It’s a mistake a 10 year old would make.
Finally to Gagliardini, he was just back to being invisible so he really didn’t offer anything for the team. Poor substitutions from our coach who later would be sent off after the penalty decision. Inzaghi was tactically correct until that first sub at the 60th minute. It was all downhill from there.
Special mention –
Our defence has been shaky for a while now, and I thought our back three had their best match of the season so far. Especially De Vrij, who was sensational in blocking any counter attacks and also distributing possession well.
There were a couple of opportunities where it looked like a pinball machine with the ball deflecting in every direction, but the defence was there to clear any opportunities. Also a couple of Handanovic ball spills which the back three were there to clean up and get the ball out of the danger area.
The penalty was unfortunate for these guys, as I thought they deserved a clean sheet today. Hopefully good signs going forward and we can start to see some consistency with our defence.
Inter have no chance of retaining the title if De Vrij, Skriniar and Bastoni aren’t at their best for the rest of the campaign ahead.
Where to next?
The games just don’t stop coming, as our next match is only three days from now. An away match to Empoli where Inter should really bounce-back from some recent disappointing league results.
Prediction: Inter 2-1
As always, Forza Inter!
