Italian Serie A
Juventus2Inter Milan0

Juventus 2-0 Inter Milan: Hosts go top in stadium empty because of coronavirus

Juventus celebrate
Juventus had no fans to celebrate their goals in front of

Juventus beat Inter Milan to go top of the Serie A table - in a surreal match behind closed doors because of coronavirus.

One of the biggest games of the Italian season took place with no fans, with all sport in Italy being played in empty grounds until 3 April at least.

Some 366 people in Italy have died of coronavirus, with 7,375 infected.

Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala scored the goals to take Juve one point above Lazio at the top of the table.

Wales midfielder Ramsey pounced onto a loose ball before rifling home the opener and Dybala scored a classy second - from Ramsey's pass - with some nice footwork to dummy Ashley Young before poking home.

Inter's title challenge is likely to be over as they now sit nine points behind Juventus.

Cristiano Ronaldo - who pretended to high-five where fans would have been standing on the way into the stadium - failed to score for the first time in Serie A since 10 November.

His 11-game league scoring streak is a joint record with Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.

Inter substitute Daniele Padelli was sent off from the bench for dissent in the second half.

In an atmosphere akin to a training session, television viewers could hear the ball being kicked and the shouts of players and coaches.

Media, support staff, security, ground staff and club senior executives were allowed into the Allianz Stadium, but no fans or family members of the players. Everyone had their temperature checked before being allowed in.

Up to 16 million people in Lombardy - the region where Milan is - and 14 provinces need special permission to travel under new quarantine rules.

Staff had their temperatures checked on their way into the ground
Staff had their temperatures checked on their way into the ground

There is a growing expectation that Premier League matches in England may have to played behind closed doors within the next two weeks, depending on government advice.

Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora accused Serie A of being "irresponsible" for ignoring his calls for football to be suspended because of coronavirus.

He said it "makes no sense" for football to continue after up to 16 million people were placed in quarantine in Italy in a bid to contain the spread of the virus - but this weekend's games all took place behind closed doors.

Parma's game against SPAL earlier on Sunday kicked off 75 minutes late as they awaited a decision on whether the game would happen after Spadafora's comments.

Line-ups

Juventus

  • 1Szczesny
  • 16Ju Cuadrado
  • 4de Ligt
  • 19Bonucci
  • 12Lobo SilvaSubstituted forDe Sciglioat 77'minutes
  • 8Ramsey
  • 30Bentancur
  • 14Matuidi
  • 11Douglas CostaSubstituted forDybalaat 59'minutes
  • 21HiguaínSubstituted forBernardeschiat 80'minutes
  • 7Cristiano RonaldoBooked at 87mins

Substitutes

  • 2De Sciglio
  • 3Chiellini
  • 5Pjanic
  • 6Khedira
  • 10Dybala
  • 13Danilo
  • 24Rugani
  • 25Rabiot
  • 31Pinsoglio
  • 33Bernardeschi
  • 77Buffon

Inter Milan

  • 1Handanovic
  • 37SkriniarBooked at 63mins
  • 6de Vrij
  • 95Bastoni
  • 87CandrevaSubstituted forGagliardiniat 74'minutes
  • 8VecinoBooked at 71mins
  • 77BrozovicBooked at 79mins
  • 23BarellaSubstituted forEriksenat 59'minutes
  • 15Young
  • 9LukakuSubstituted forSánchezat 77'minutes
  • 10Martínez

Substitutes

  • 2Godín
  • 5Gagliardini
  • 7Sánchez
  • 13Ranocchia
  • 18Asamoah
  • 20Valero
  • 24Eriksen
  • 27Padelli
  • 30Esposito
  • 33D'Ambrosio
  • 34Biraghi
  • 46Berni
Referee:
Marco Guida

Match Stats

Home TeamJuventusAway TeamInter Milan
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home17
Away13
Shots on Target
Home5
Away1
Corners
Home5
Away4
Fouls
Home8
Away18

Live Text

Match ends, Juventus 2, Inter Milan 0.

Full Time

Second Half ends, Juventus 2, Inter Milan 0.

Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Paulo Dybala.

Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Aaron Ramsey.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Foul by Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan).

Foul by Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus).

Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Alexis Sánchez (Inter Milan).

Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Christian Eriksen (Inter Milan).

Booking

Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) is shown the yellow card.

Foul by Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus).

Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Corner, Inter Milan. Conceded by Leonardo Bonucci.

Corner, Inter Milan. Conceded by Mattia De Sciglio.

Substitution

Substitution, Juventus. Federico Bernardeschi replaces Gonzalo Higuaín.

Dismissal

Daniele Padelli (Inter Milan) is shown the red card.

Booking

Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Blaise Matuidi (Juventus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan).

Attempt missed. Christian Eriksen (Inter Milan) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Matías Vecino.

Substitution

Substitution, Juventus. Mattia De Sciglio replaces Alex Sandro because of an injury.

Substitution

Substitution, Inter Milan. Alexis Sánchez replaces Romelu Lukaku.

Substitution

Substitution, Inter Milan. Roberto Gagliardini replaces Antonio Candreva.

Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Blaise Matuidi.

Booking

Matías Vecino (Inter Milan) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Alex Sandro (Juventus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Matías Vecino (Inter Milan).

Alex Sandro (Juventus) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan).

Goal!

Goal! Juventus 2, Inter Milan 0. Paulo Dybala (Juventus) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Aaron Ramsey.

Foul by Gonzalo Higuaín (Juventus).

Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Corner, Juventus. Conceded by Stefan de Vrij.

Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Booking

Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan).

goal

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Sunday 8th March 2020

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Juventus26203350242663
2Lazio26195260233762
3Inter Milan25166349242554
4Atalanta25146570343648
5Roma26136751351645
6Napoli2611694136539
7AC Milan26106102834-636
8Hellas Verona259882926335
9Parma25105103231135
10Bologna2697103842-434
11Cagliari258894140132
12Fiorentina2679103236-430
13Sassuolo2485113839-129
14Udinese2677122137-1628
15Torino2583142845-1727
16Sampdoria2575132844-1626
17Genoa2667133147-1625
18Lecce2667133456-2225
19SPAL2653182044-2418
20Brescia2544172246-2416
View full Italian Serie A table

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