Last night’s Derby d’Italia at the Allianz Stadium went about predictably. A tense and heated affair that eventually resulted in an Inter Milan victory through Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick.
When crunch ties such as derbies come around, players often whip out all the skills at their disposal to get an edge. This also means that derbies feature plenty of theatrics at play.
After all, the dark arts are known for presenting an advantage. And these two incidents in particular from last night’s game were simply Oscar-worthy.
A ferocious tap –
The first of these involved Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic and Inter Milan defender Danilo D’Ambrosio.
The latter can be seen waving his arms, perhaps offering the ref a suggestion, and accidentally, his fingers come in contact with the striker’s face.
Far from a slap, and more along the lines of a feeble tap, the contact delicately rattled Vlahovic’s cheekbone. Nevertheless, the Serbian had received his cue and after giving D’Ambrosio an accusatory stare, he instantly tumbled onto the floor.
The fall itself was rather glorious, especially in slow motion, slap on the iconic ‘Titanic’ theme in the background and we have poetry in motion.
“He whacked my face ref!” –
The second incident features Juve centre back Matthijs de Ligt, and being a defender, one wouldn’t associate him with exaggerated dives.
However, the reality is evidently contrasting.
As seen in this clip, the Dutchman takes the lightest of taps from a retreating Matteo Darmian. He even has a delayed reaction, coupled with a customary groan, before planting himself on the ground.
Despite all the exaggerated falling, it all went in vain as Inter Milan eclipsed the Bianconeri in the end.
The loss looks to be a significant one for Juve as the distance between them and the Scudetto continues to increase. Inter, on the other hand, remain firmly in the race and looks eager to catch up with rivals AC Milan.
