I will stop a little short of saying we owned Inter, they were our equals in the first half and were not too far off from salvaging a little something from the game after all. Yet, as with all of you, the virtuoso second half performance remains all of the match that is etched in my mind, and I hope it is a sign of the things to come.
It was always going to be our game once the first goal came. Inter lost the plot almost instantaneously, and it didn't help them that they were so disjointed up front. It was almost as if Ibrahimovic, Cruz and Stankovic were each playing their own game at times, though I suppose with Ibrahimovic there it doesn't seem all that surprising. They never rallied to come back, and Mancini certainly isn't the kind of coach you turn to in these situations.
But I won't take any of the credit away from our lads. They were smashing today, excellent all round.
Gigi had as big a role to play as anyone tonight. I would love to say that he was a non-factor in the win but the fact remains that we wouldn't have won without those brilliant saves, in particular the one from Chivu's set piece.
Leggrotalie and Chiellini were rock solid throughout, if there was any doubt at all whether Giorgio in particular would work out in the centre I believe he dispelled them tonight. The quality of our centre backs is always a good barometer for the entire Juve side and they did no wrong all night.
Molinaro was a mixed bag for me, Suazo got the better of him on at least two occasions and we have luck and Gigi to thank that he didn't cost us today. Otherwise he was mostly decent, which counts for something against Inter in the Meazza.
Grygera has been quietly cementing his position in the side, even if he has been aided by Chiellini's stellar transition into the centre of defence. Hardly contributed on the offensive end but with Del Piero in such form there wasn't a need to.
Salihamidzic seemed a little out of place for me, it was almost as if Ranieri had all the spots filled and tossed Hasan in to do a little of everything. Which worked in the second half but not so much the first.
Nedved ran his socks off today. It was heartening to see him go on lung bursting runs and help out on the defensive end as well, would have liked to see him get a couple of shots off though.
On a night like this, I would have expected Camoranesi to either make or break the game for us. He didn't get as much of the ball as I would've liked but on the brighter side of things we managed to dominate the proceedings without having to rely on his trickery too much.
Trezeguet gave a classic performance today. A passenger for most of the match but stood up to be counted in the two seconds that mattered. If and when the ball fell to him, there was only going to be one outcome. I caught myself celebrating before he even connected with the shot, as a matter of fact.
Il Capitano was a revelation today. A little selfish perhaps, but who can fault him on a night like this? Tonight was a great victory, and I find it only natural that our flag bearer would want to exact a little personal revenge on Inter. He may not have scored, but sure as hell did enough to give Donadoni a little reminder of what he could be missing this summer.
Oh, and lest I forget, Forza Juve.
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