The feast of fabulous soccer on display at Turin’s Allianz Stadium ended in a 4-3 success for Juventus to pile the pressure on Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu.
After a glut of goals, and streaming of substitutes, it was the late appearances of teenager Vasilije Adzic and goal poacher Jonathan David that turned the tide in Juve’s favor.
The Bianconeri looked lost in the second half until head coach Igor Tudor shook things up with tactical changes. Having twice led, Juve fell behind when unmarked Marcus Thuram was gifted his headed goal.
Thuram’s brother Khephren produced a virtually identical strike before the 91st-minute winner from Adzic.
With the RefCam trialled for the Serie A clash between Juventus and Inter, VAR was still required for Adzic’s goal.
The Thuram brothers were seen in conversation during the VAR check, seemingly laughing with one another.
Chivu slams controversy
Under pressure Inter boss Cristian Chivu, having lost two of his three opening league games, was quizzed about the Thuram brothers in the post-match press conference.
Chivu hit back about this and retorted: “I have not seen it. I don’t know the context, I don’t know if anything happened. Let’s stop making controversies, it’s not good for anyone.
“Let’s talk about what we did see. I’m interested in understanding the big moments from the game.
“The team’s attitude was right, we managed to put Juventus in trouble. There was dominance in the second half, but we didn’t know how to manage it.”
“The team’s attitude was right, we managed to put Juventus in trouble. There was dominance in the second half, but we didn’t know how to manage it.”
Last-gasp winner Adzic
Yet the happiest player to leave the Allianz Stadium pitch was 19-year-old Adzic, who was set up by David to slot home the winner. Adzic made just six Serie A appearances last term.
He beamed: “It is a dream to play and score such an important goal for Juve, it really is a dream.
“I have worked hard for a moment like this, I am very happy. The manager had faith in me, I came on in such an important game and scored.”
Tudor explained: “These games are sometimes decided by goals like Adzic’s, who has this kind of ability.
“He deserved to come on, we have seen him do very well recently. It is a great victory because we were playing against an important, high-level team.”