Juventus 1-1 Inter Milan

TURIN - Saturday night's hard-fought derby d'Italia at the Stadio Olimpico produced a 1-1 draw, leaving Inter's ten-point lead at the top of the table intact.

Mario Balotelli slotted home the opener in the second half and the eighteen-year-old's goal looked to be good for victory after the dismissal of Juventus midfielder Tiago, but Zdenek Grygera popped up in added time to head home an equaliser.

Mourinho made three changes to the team that drew with Palermo last weekend, with Julio Cesar back between the posts, Samuel returning in defence and Figo starting on the right wing for his 100th match in Italy's Serie A.

Chivu switched to left-back at the expense of Maxwell, while Zanetti slotted in on the opposite flank with Santon starting on the bench.

Ranieri opted for 4-4-2 with Del Piero starting up front alongside Iaquinta after getting the nod ahead of Trezeguet.

The Bianconeri attacked Mourinho's men in the early stages but it was Inter who produced the first clear chance through Balotelli in the 10th minute.

The Italy Under-21 forward controlled a long pass and burst past two defenders before sending a low shot on target. Buffon took the sting out of it, allowing for Tiago to clear off the line.

Juventus continued to create and Julio Cesar made easy saves from Del Piero and Iaquinta before the latter had a shot deflected off Samuel. The home side went even closer when Marchionni, put through by Del Piero, tried to lift the ball over Julio Cesar but the Inter keeper had moved quickly to narrow the angle.

Inter produced more towards the end of the half with Stankovic firing wide from Balotelli's inviting pass and Figo testing Buffon after a solo run on goal.

The Nerazzurri came out for the second half as they ended the first and Stankovic's stinging shot forced a parry from Buffon who minutes later saved Ibrahimovic's header from Balotelli's cross.

The breakthrough came in the 64th minute when Ibrahimovic found Muntari in space down the left and the Ghanaian crossed to the far post where Balotelli was on hand to slide beyond Buffon.

Inter's task was made easier with less than a quarter of an hour on the clock when Tiago was shown a straight red card for shoving Balotelli right after a bad challenge on Muntari.

Mourinho made two tactical changes, introducing Vieira for Balotelli and Burdisso for Muntari as the Nerazzurri made the man advantage count, and Buffon was a busy man in the closing stages. The Juventus keeper kept out a shot from Stankovic, later making a tipped save from Cruz who replaced Figo in the final minutes.

Against the run of play, Grygera popped up in the box in added time to send a flicked header from Giovinco's inswinging corner past Julio Cesar and salvage a point for the home team.

Juventus 1-1 Inter (HT: 0-0)

Scorer: Balotelli 64, Grygera 90+1.

Juventus: 1 Buffon; 21 Grygera, 33 Legrottaglie, 3 Chiellini, 28 Molinaro (29 De Ceglie 63); 32 Marchionni (17 Trezeguet 74), 18 Poulsen, 30 Tiago, 11 Nedved; 9 Iaquinta, 10 Del Piero (20 Giovinco 80).
Subs not used: 12 Chimenti, 4 Mellberg, 5 Zebina, 15 Knezevic.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.

Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 4 Zanetti, 2 Cordoba, 25 Samuel, 26 Chivu; 19 Cambiasso; 7 Figo (9 Cruz 87), 5 Stankovic, 20 Muntari (16 Burdisso 78), 45 Balotelli (14 Vieira 77); 8 Ibrahimovic.
Subs not used: 1 Toldo, 6 Maxwell, 23 Materazzi, 39 Santon.
Coach: José Mourinho.

Referee: Stefano Farina (Novi Ligure).

taken from: inter.it