Turin-Juventus 2-2
GOALS: 24’pt and 9’st Vlahovic, 15’st Casadei, 39’st Adams.
TURIN (3-5-2): Paleari 6; Ismajli 5, Coco 5, Ebosse 5.5; Pedersen 6 (24’st Prati 6.5), Vlasic 6, Ilkhan 6 (18’st Njie 6.5), Gineitis 6 (1’st Casadei 7.5), Obrador 6.5 (18’st Nkounkou 6); Simeone 6, Zapata 5.5 (10’st Adams 7). On the bench: Israel, Siviero, Gabellini, Biraghi, Tameze, Lazaro, Ilic, Kulenovic, Pellini. Coach: D’Aversa 6.5.
JUVENTUS (3-4-2-1): Perin 6.5; Kalulu 6, Gatti 5, Kelly 5.5; McKennie 6, Locatelli 5.5, Thuram 6 (25’st Koopmeiners 5.5), Cambiaso 5.5 (17’st Holm 5.5); Conceicao 6.5 (25’st Miretti 5.5), Boga 6 (33’st Zhegrova 5.5); Vlahovic 7 (17’st David 5.5). On the bench: Di Gregorio, Pinsoglio, Cabal, Adzic, Kostic, Openda, Milik, Yildiz. Coach: Spalletti 5.5.
REFEREE: Zufferli of Udine 6.
NOTES: clear evening, pitch in fair condition. Booked: Kalulu, Ebosse, Zhegrova. Angles: 6-6. Recovery time: 3′, 5’+1.
Juve is out of the Champions League and Toro comes back from 0-2 to 2-2, but the Mole derby on the last day will be remembered for the madness that broke out outside the stadium with the violent clashes between fans and the police, in which a man was seriously injured. A serious episode that led to the match being postponed for an hour, with the Juventus fans even asking not to play it.
On the pitch, however, D’Aversa enjoys the unbeaten record at home but will have to discuss his future with the club, Spalletti and his men instead fail the minimum objective and go to the Europa League. Before reaching this epilogue, however, chaos occurred on and off the pitch. It all started in the afternoon, around 5pm, when violent clashes broke out near the stadium. The Juventus ultras were marching along Corso UnioneSoviet, the Toro fans had gathered at the Philadelphia stadium, other Granata groups were moving from the Maratona curve. All the routes converged in Piazzale San Gabriele da Gorizia, this is where the guerrilla war broke out: the fans came into contact, with tear gas and explosive charges the police dispersed the two factions. During the clashes, four officers were injured and a Juventus fan was hit in the head and transported under code red to hospital where he underwent surgery and received a visit from a delegation of Toro ultras.
“What was supposed to be an evening of football and fun, due to the irresponsible and criminal behavior of some, degenerated into clashes and violence” declared the mayor, Stefano Lo Russo, who expressed “solidarity with the officers who were injured while they were at work to guarantee public order and closeness to the fan involved in the riots who is now in hospital”. And here the other derby has opened, the one inside the stadium: the news of the Juventus player wearing a red code is making the rounds in the away sector and the Juventus ultras are loudly asking not to play, positioning themselves on the balustrades and threatening to invade the pitch. Captain Locatelli tries to calm things down, the teams return to the locker rooms and the derby has been postponed to 9.45pm, with the simultaneity with the other matches of the Champions League now skipped. D’Aversa starts with the Simeone-Zapata tandem, Spalletti is without Yildiz and replaces him with Boga, the surprise is between the posts with Perin who takes the goal and sends Di Gregorio to the bench.
However, it is played in a surreal atmosphere, because the section dedicated to Juventus fans is almost deserted and even the central part of the Maratona curve, the beating heart of the Granata fans, is emptied and effectively cancels the planned choreography. Spalletti’s team started the best, the derby broke the deadlock in the 24th minute: Thuram found Vlahovic in the heart of the penalty area, the Serbian controlled and also thanks to a deflection from Ebosse. Toro tries to react, but Perin remains practically inactive and only trembles after a turn from Gineitis which however misses the target. The Bianconeri went into the locker room with the lead but during the interval the finals arrived from the other fields: Milan lost, Roma and Como won, with Gasperini and Fabregas flying arm in arm into the Champions League and condemning Spalletti to the Europa League. Vlahovic’s second goal at the start of the second half seemed to knock Toro out, but they reacted and immediately shortened the lead with Casadei. Adams explodes Grande Torino in the 5th minute with the goal to make it 2-2, which will also be the final result.