Internazionale v Juventus - as it happened

Preamble Hello. There was only time for a toilet break or a preamble, and I'm a self-obsessed sort. Team news An emotional reunion for Rafael Benitez and Alberto Aquilani. Samuel Eto'o is preferred up front to Diego Milito. Internazionale (4-2-3-1) Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Lucio, Chivu; Stankovic, Cambiasso; Biabiany, Sneijder, Coutinho; Eto'o. Subs: Castellazzi, Materazzi, Santon, Mancini, Mariga, Obi, Milito. Juventus (4-4-2) Storari; Grygera, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Krasic, Melo, Aquilani, Marchisio; Iaquinta, Quagliarella. Subs: Manninger, Motta, Legrottaglie, Pepe, Sissoko, Martinez, Del Piero. 1 min Internazionale kick off from right to left. They're in blu- oh you know full well what colours both teams are wearing. 3 min Inter have started nicely, and Coutinho's cute reverse pass almost puts Sneijder in. 5 min There have been so many highlights in this fixture down the years, of course. My favourite is this goal from Roberto Baggio in 1991-92 . As Martin Tyler said on Sky, play that one again and again. 7 min Inter win their second corner on the right, and then their third, on the left. Sneijder whips it in and Aquilani heads clear. It's all Inter. 8 min "Though strong defence has usually trumped attacking flair (at least since 1970) has the balance between defence and attack become too tilted to the former?" says Gary Naylor. "After Spain winning the World Cup in binary, Inter Milan winning the Champions League on the break and a start to the Premier League that shows Arsenal and Manchester United to be ill-equipped to defend all over the field and written off by most judges, I feel that the pressing game, playing narrow, using two defensive midfielders and all the other weapons available to the defensive coach are akin to machine guns vs cavalry. I quite like seeing sound defence, but in a recession, it's not going to sell seats and subs is it?" Yes, massively – and it'll get worse when Roberto Mancini's rib-tickling take on 4-3-3 becomes the norm. You need bigger pitches, and as you can't have those I'd experiment with the next-best thing: ten-a-side. 10 min Unusually for Serie A, nothing is actually happening. Inter are playing some decent stuff but neither side has really threatened. 11 min My colleague Jacob Steinberg sends more highlights of Juve v Inter past . Probably not wise to remind Inter fans of that game . 13 min After that early spell of pressure, Juventus look pretty comfortable now. The game, as a consequence, is pretty boring, although there's still a lovely, crisp sound every time Inter pass the ball. Either they are moving the ball with the certainty and purpose of European champions or, more probably, my headphones are a bit knackered. 14 min Eto'o picks up the ball on the left, runs into the box and away from a ludicrously half-hearted challenge by Grygera, but Bonucci blocks his shot. 16 min The vivacious Coutinho runs at the Juventus defence and swerves beautifully away from Bonucci, who doesn't even bother to try to disguise the fact that he is going to boot him up in the air. He is rightly booked and Inter have a free-kick 25 yards from goal... 17 min ... and Sneijder hits it straight into the wall. 20 min Sorry about that: I had to attend to newspaper business. That's not a euphemism, at least not yet. You've missed nothing, except for Rafael Benitez stripping naked and daubing 'EFF U FERG' on his bare chest in green lipstick. 21 min "It's a well-known fact that Juventus' striped shirts were adopted from Notts County," says Kevin Porter, "but did you know that Inter's blue and black colours are worn in recognition of Karl Henry's contribution to world football." I don't know what's worse: being Karl Henry or being the Dutch Karl Henry, like that bloke at Manchester City. At least you expect English midfielders to do that sort of thing. 22 min Milos Krasic chests a pass from Quagriella into the space in front of him and then, as it bounces up on the edge of the box, slaps it a few yards wide of the near post. It wasn't as close as it looked on first viewing, and Cesar had it covered. 23 min That time Krasic certainly troubled Cesar. Krasic ran at Chivu in the box, shifted the ball to his right and drilled a terrific cross-shot towards the far corner. Cesar plunged very smartly to his right to fingertip it round the post. That's a terrific piece of goalkeeping. 24 min Suddenly it's all Juventus. De Ceglie puts in a dangerous low cross from the left; Lucio, facing his own goal, completely misses his attempted clearance and then his central-defensive partner Cordoba bobbles his attempted clearance just past his own post. 26 min "Ten a side eh?" sniffs Gary Naylor. "That may be a bit too radical, but space on the pitch is too scarce a commodity right now, especially with all these substitutes meaning that the collective tiring of a side is a thing of the past. How about the old saw about offside only within 18 yards of the goal-line? That would give ball-playing midfielders a little more space and enlarge the mythical hole within which so much creative play is executed. If governments can inject liquidity into banking, can't Fifa do the same with top-end football?" Ten-a-side might and probably would not work, but I'd guinea-pig it. I'm not sure about the offside law; the space you give to the ball-playing midfielders in deep positions is thus taken away from those attacking positions. I'd have to think about that or, better still, ask Wilson and pass off his thoughts as my own. 30 min Jonathan Biabiany, who was injured a couple of minutes ago when Chiellini stood on his foot, is limping off and will be replaced by Diego Milito. That's a radge-inducer for Samuel Eto'o, who will thus return to the wing. The left, this time, with Coutinho on the right. 31 min Talking of this fixture's history, I love this goal from Lothar Matthaus in 1990-91 . It's not a screamer, but there's the most wonderful inevitability about it. He was the best player in the world back then. As the excellent Martin Tyler said at the time, "They've lined him up... Oh and he's found the bottom corner, with an efficiency that you can't credit really." 32 min Iaquinta has a goal disallowed for Juventus. He was just offside as he tapped Krasic's driven cross into the net from four yards - but it was terribly negligent forward play, because he was in miles of space in the centre of the goal and had no reason to be beyond the last man. He punches the air in the direction of the assistant referee when really, if he wants to finger the right man, he should be punching himself in the face like Ed Norton in Fight Club. 33 min "Football will come around...I have faith," says Qasa Alom. "But in the meantime, rather than 10 v 10's or bigger pitches...Why not simply...Size 4 balls?" How about the Mitre Mouldmaster? That would liven things – and thighs – up. 35 min Chivu is booked for a late tackle on Krasic, who is starting to give him a bit of a chasing. 36 min "Re the not-a-euphemism at 20 minutes," says Robin Hazlehurst. "I thought you just meant you had run out of loo paper." 37 min Stankovic knees Iaquinta up the arse and is astonished that the referee deems this a foul. Inter are all over the place at the moment. When Cesar punches the resulting free-kick unconvincingly away, Krasic's low cross is desperately cleared by Cambiasso a few yards from his own goal. 40 min De Ceglie shoots from 40 yards. No. 41 min A decent effort from Cambiasso. When a headed clearance came to him 20 yards out, he controlled the spinning ball expertly and then spanked a half-volley across goal and over the top. 42 min Eto'o goes on a glorious, sinuous run down the left, past three defenders and into the box, but his low cross is just behind Milito on the six-yard line and that allows De Ceglie to clear. 43 min Inter might have had a penalty there. Sneijder was dragged over in the box by Chiellini and, while he went down ridiculously easily, there was contact. In fact Chiellini had both arms draped around Sneijder's neck like the arms of a toff's jumper. I'd give that. 44 min Quagriella's shot from 25 yards is well struck but straight at Cesar, who saves comfortably. 45 min "I hate to screw with the purity of the game," says James Angleton. "However, perhaps the easiest way to shift the balance between defence and attack would be only allowing the team without the ball to have eight players behind it at any one time inside their own half." Also, that's a perfect excuse for Uefa to have two more officials just to ensure teams don't break that rule. 45+2 min Milito misses from three yards. It's not as bad as it sounds. Eto'o curved a dangerous ball beyond far post but Milito, who lose De Ceglie, had to stretch a long way and thus couldn't control his shot, which went wide of the near post. Half time: Internazionale 0-0 Juventus A pretty dull half. Eto'o and especially Krasic were excellent, but apart from one outstanding save from Julio Cesar there has been little for the keepers to do. See you in 10 minutes. Half-time chit-chat, with Robin Hazlehurst "The problem with the modern game is that it is too fast, hence so little space and such appalling injuries. The solution is simple: cast iron wrap-around shin and ankle guards, maybe extending up beyond the knee. They would make everyone much safer and slow them down too, thus creating more space and meaning we can keep 11 on the pitch. If that is too radical then make everyone have a double helping of pudding at lunch before kick off, that'll slow them down." I knew people would eventually reappraise the merits of a good old-fashioned booze-and-steak. Diets are cyclical, like the appeal of string vests. 46 min Juventus kick off the second half from right to left. Both sides have made half-time substitutions: Davide Santon replaces Ivan Cordoba for Inter, and Marco Motta is on in place of Paolo De Ceglie for Juve. 48 min Sneijder plays a glorious angled pass to Coutinho on the right of the box – like a poor relation of this one – but his first touch is a fraction too heavy and that allows Grygera to nip in and concede a corner. 50 min Quagliarella tries an imaginative, improvised lob from 25 yards, but Cesar backpedals to his line and pats the ball down comfortably. 52 min Sneijder is tripped by Bonucci by the left corner of the box. Bonucci, already booked, could have gone there. Sneijder's bobbling free-kick goes through a flimsy wall but a couple of yards wide of the near post. 54 min Stankovic fouls Iaquinta 30 yards from goal. Marchisio lays the free-kick off to Felipe Melo, whose shots spins off a defender and wide for a corner. Aquilani takes it, and bugger all comes of it. 56 min Eto'o goes an outrageous, jet-heeled run from deep inside his own half, past three players and into the Juventus box, and his low cross is shanked not far wide of his own near post by Chiellini (I think). That was brilliant stuff, a cattle-prod to the nether regions of a docile contest. 58 min "How's Cambiasso playing Rob?" says Gary Naylor. "Still not well enough for 'not at all chokers' Argentina?" Arf. 60 min Great play from Krasic. He picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch, 35 yards from goal, and went on an angled run around the Inter defence – think that George Best goal against Sheffield United – before rattling a shot towards the near post from the edge of the box. Cesar got down to beat it away for a corner. 61 min Now Sneijder goes close with a smart, bobbling shot towards the near post from 25 yards out. It was going right in the bottom corner, but Storari plunged to his right to turn the ball round. 64 min Eto'o clips the ball in behind Motta, who cynically brings him down and is rightly booked. Moments later, Alessandro del Piero replaces Iaquinta. He is, as you probably know, one short of the Juve record for goals scored in Serie A: Giampiero Boniperti with 178. 65 min Quagriella, found by Melo, swooshes a bouncing ball past the angle of post and bar from 20 yards. 67 min I have no idea how Inter did not go ahead there. Sneijder's wicked inswinging free-kick from the left found Maicon unmarked, five yards from goal, but his header was straight at Storari and he just held on at the second attempt as Lucio followed in. 69 min Cesar makes a vital save to deny Quagliarella. He ran beyond Lucio and through on goal, but his shot from 12 yards towards the near post was a little tame and allowed Cesar to get down to his right and push it wide for a corner. 70 min "I see you buy the Ferguson line that Benitez is/was 'disturbed'," says Niall Mullen. "Still, with bizarre team selections and tedious 0-0 draws away from home, perhaps they are more alike than they care to let on." 74 min Del Piero swerves classily past Cambiasso in midfield and brings a rudimentary save from Cesar with a left-footed shot from 25 yards. 76 min "It says above 'Turn on our auto-refresh tool for the latest updates'," notes Gary Naylor. "So I should write about Denmark's mid-80s team or else you won't tell me the score? Bit harsh referring to you as an auto-refresh tool though." 78 min Almost an outstanding goal for Inter. Cambiasso clipped a fine pass over the defence and Milito, with barely any time six yards from goal, killed the ball at chest height with his outstretched right foot before passing it instantly across Storari and just wide of the far post. I can't decide if that's a bad miss or not; certainly the speed with which he controlled the ball and got the shot away was breathtaking. 80 min Alberto Aquilani is replaced by Momo Sissoko. 81 min "Ah, so the not-a-euphemism at 20 minutes was you actually auto-refreshing your tool," says Robin Hazlehurst. "With a newspaper. Couldn't you use an old sock like everyone else?" 82 min Del Piero is swinging like a man who needs one goal for a record, and Cesar gets down to his right to hold a curling 25-yard strike. 85 min Eto'o's crisp, straight pass down the inside-left channel finds Milito, but Chiellini stays with him all the way and Milito can only crunch a shot wide of the near post from a prohibitively tight angle. 86 min Sneijder's been quite quiet tonight. Everything he does has a touch of quality, though. He's such a brainy player. 87 min Both sides want to avoid defeat more than they want to win. The result is a careful study of the growth of grass in the Milan area over the next few minutes. 90 min There will be a minimum of two minutes' added time. 90+1 min Del Piero curves a 30-yard free-kick into the arms of the leaping Cesar. Full time: Internazionale 0-0 Juventus Mediocre game, fair result. Inter stay fourth as a result; Juve are seventh. Night.