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On Sunday evening, in the 13th round of the Italian championship, known as the Derby d'Italia, the league leader, Turin's Juventus, met the not-so-successful Milano's Inter. The intense and eventful match ended in a draw.
2 - 2
53' [0 - 1] Marcelo Zalayeta
66' [0 - 2] Zlatan Ibrahimovic (penalty)
79' [1 - 2] Christian Vieri
85' [2 - 2] Adriano
The match started more aggressively by the home team, but the ironclad defense of the visitors managed to fend off the attacks. In the 25th minute, Milan's defender G. Favalli suffered an injury, and "Inter" players got a chance with a man down, but E. Davids played excellently in defense. Just a minute later, a shot from Holland flew over the crossbar in the opposite end of the field.
In the midst of events in the 35th minute, E. Davids found himself again, this time clearing the ball off the goal line after P. Nedved's header attempt. So, in the first half, neither team managed to score, and G. Favalli couldn't continue the match and was replaced by Ze Maria.
The second half started more actively by "Juve”, and after four minutes, a free Z. Ibrahimovic header missed the target. The first goal came in the 53rd minute - Nedved received the ball from Camoranesio and struck from 20 meters, the ball bouncing off M. Zalayeta's thigh changing its direction and flying into the net.
The goal boosted the visitors and they slowly began to control the game. However, in the 64th minute goalkeeper G. Buffon had some work, as he had to parry a strong shot from S. Mihajlovic. Just a minute later, the "Inter" defense made a mistake - Zalayeta received the ball in the penalty area and was brought down by goalkeeper F. Toldo. The referee awarded a penalty kick, which was converted by Z. Ibrahimovic.
After conceding the second goal, "Inter" coach R. Mancini started strengthening the attack, substituting C. Vieri and A. Recoba for Davids and A. Van der Meyde. It was the right choice, as in the 79th minute Vieri received a pass from Recoba and scored a ground shot reducing the deficit.
After recovering, the home team started pressing the opponents - three minutes later Recoba lifted the ball again for Vieri, but this time his header was blocked by Buffon. The efforts of the "Inter" players paid off in the 80th minute, when Adriano equalized the score with a great shot from 7 meters after a pass from O. Martins.
At the end of the match, both teams had the opportunity to snatch the victory, but they had to settle for a draw. This was the 11th draw for the "Inter" team this season, and both today's opponents are separated by 15 points in the tournament table - "Juve" leads with 32 points collected.
