Coming into the tie as champions of Italy, Inter flew out the traps, playing with incredible intensity and aggression which Juventus struggled to contain in the early moments. However, for all of their domination, the ‘Nerazzurri’ failed to produce any clear-cut chances, and typically, Juventus instead took the lead completely against the run of play. Álvaro Morata bamboozled Milan Škriniar on the wing before delivering a perfect cross into the six-yard box, where Weston McKennie found himself criminally unmarked to nod the ball in. The opening goal changed the rhythm of the game, and it was now Juve’s turn to dominate as they began to control the play and possession, whilst Inter, including boss Inzaghi, looked rattled.
Despite being the hero at the weekend, Mattia De Sciglio gifted Inter a way back into the game when he clumsily brought down Edin Džeko in the box. His strike partner, Lautaro Martínez, made no mistake from the spot, thrashing the ball into the top corner to send the sides level into the break.
The second half was a complete contrast to the first, as the high-tempo clash became a scrappy affair, littered with stoppages and niggly fouls. Denzel Dumfries came close to sparking the game into life as he outmuscled Alex Sandro in the air at the back post to head towards goal, but Mattia Perin brilliantly palmed the ball onto the post. This did give Inter a second wind as they began to play with greater intensity going forward. The high pressure produced several chances on goal, but Juve’s Perin was on hand every time to deny the Serie A holders.
Neither side managed to find the elusive second goal in 90 minutes, and it was onto ET instead. As the tie edged towards penalties, substitute Alexis Sánchez had other capitalized capitalize on a loose ball in the box to poke home the winning goal and clinch the trophy for Inter.
