Juventus 1-1 Inter Milan: 5 talking points

Defending champions Juventus kicked of their new year with a whimper as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by a resilient Inter Milan. The in-form Bianconeri striker Carlos Tevez put his side ahead within just 5 minutes but that wasn't enough as Mauro Icardi levelled the scores for the visitors shortly after the hour mark.Both teams couldn't take the lead after that, and thus had to be happy with a share of the spoils from this tricky fixture. Here are the 5 talking points from the game:

#1 Samir Handanovic proved to be a hero for the Nerazzuris

Had it not been for the Inter custodian’s dexterity in goal, they would have been at the receiving end of a proper thrashing. The Slovenian international made four vital saves during the course of the game, that included a fine stop from Arturo Vidal’s effort late in the first half and an acrobatic save from Pirlo's well taken free-kick.

Handanovic then foiled another effort, this time by Alvaro Morata, who tried to set up Patrice Evra late in the second half. Despite the relentless attacking from Juventus, the goalkeeper stood tall and repelled everything that came his way, helping his side go back home with a point.

#2 Arturo Vidal proved why he is a big match player for Juventus

The Chilean may have failed to find the net in this game, but his contribution was very substantial. With only 5 minutes having passed in the game, Vidal conjured a moment of magic that put his side ahead. The midfielder outmaneuvered his opposite number and country-man Gary Medel with a deft touch on the ball and with a cheeky back-heel, set-up Carlos Tevez, who made no mistake and slotted the ball home.

Vidal was later snubbed off in the 78th minute and had every reason to leave the field with his head held high as he had taken three shots, made seven tackles and also made four crucial interceptions in that time period.

#3 Mauro Icardi continues to haunt the Turin giants

Ever since the Argentine starlet made his senior debut in Italy’s top flight, he has gone head-to-head with the Turin outfit four times – once with Sampdoria and thrice with Inter Milan – and has yet to finish on the losing side.

In those four appearances, the 21-year-old striker has found the net on 5 occasions and Icardi came back to haunt them last night when he latched onto a through ball from Fredy Guarin and held off Leonardo Bonucci before nonchalantly nudging the ball past Buffon to restore parity for the visitors. In the process, he scored his fifth goal against the Bianconeri.

#4 Title race now wide open

Up until gameweek 13 in Serie A, Max Allegri's men seemed to be firmly on course for an unprecedented fourth Scudetto on the trot when they led their closest rivals AS Roma by a massive seven points, but their recent form slump has derailed the momentum.

With this stalemate, Juventus have now drawn three of their last four games, accumulating only six points out of a possible 12, thereby reducing the deficit at the top of the table to just a point after 17 games.

With another treacherous away fixture against Napoli lined-up next weekend, Juventus need to ensure they are at the top of their game before its too late.

#5 Are good days on the horizon for Internazionale?

Prior to kick-off, the San Siro outfit had endured a series of underwhelming results in Serie A, especially against teams from the top half, both at home and away from home. And in this grudge fixture when they were tipped to endure a chastening defeat, they managed to step up to the plate and silence the naysayers.

The mental block which has normally been their problem when they have tussled with a formidable side seemed nonexistent in this match and the Nerazzurri played with a vigour and guile that was barely seen in their recent games. Although judging them on the basis of just one convincing performance is definitely jumping the gun, but the positivity they showed last night augurs well for the future, and it may actually help them start putting some wins together, and finish the second half of the season on a high.