Serie A 2018-19, Juventus 1-0 Inter Milan: Derby D'Italia 2018 decided by a single goal

Juventus battled against one of their toughest opponents of the season on 8th December, as they hosted and defeated Inter by 1-0.

The winning goal was scored by Mario Mandzukic deep inside the second half and it allows the Vecchia Signora to build a 14-point lead in the Serie A over one of their main rivals for the Scudetto.

The Derby d'Italia ended with a result that has become all too familiar for Juventus this season, another victory and another clean sheet.

What's so interesting about Juventus this season is that there seems to be a pattern to their matches, teams play well against the Italian champions but fail to take their chances. Juventus eventually always finds a way to capitalize and seal off the game.

Eventually, that’s exactly what happened. Mandzukic thundered home a header just after the hour mark, and Giorgio Chiellini utterly neutralized perpetual pain in the rear Mauro Icardi, who was shackled for the second time in as many games at the Allianz Stadium.

The resulting 1-0 win put Juve 14 points up on their deadly rivals as Christmas approaches.

The resulting 1-0 win put Juve 14 points up on their deadly rivals as Christmas approaches

All the credit goes to Giorgio Chiellini, who had a phenomenal game at the match and was certainly the man of the match at the back for the Old Lady.

Chiellini has been a world class defender for many years, but it's time he gets his recognition. He was everywhere whenever Juventus needed him and always seemed to be in the right place throughout the match.

The last game of the Champions League group stage is upon us as Juve take on Young Boys on 12th December.

A win is the only way to guarantee the top spot in the group, as Manchester United has the tiebreaker on head-to-head away goals if they finish level on points with Juventus. That would take a Juve draw and Manchester United win, which would put Juve into the non-seeded box.

It doesn’t let up after that, because it’s another Derby straight away: the Derby della Mole is Saturday at the Stadio Grande Torino.