Inter Milan 3-2 Juventus – Beyond the Red Card: Why We’re Missing The Real Story Of Derby d’Italia | OneFootball

The Inter Milan 3-2 Juventus win in the Derby d’Italia on San Valentino, should have been in headlines for the quality of football and the entertainment value.

However, the post-match has become stuck on a single moment: the bad call and red card shown to Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu.

Yes, it was the wrong call, and it impacted the match. But here’s what we’re missing while obsessing over the red card.

We had excellent football from both sides, and that should have been the story. I guess bad news sell more than good news as explained in the great book “The Power of Bad”, by John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister.

From my vantage point in the United States, where Italian football competes against countless other sports and leagues, this match showed exactly what makes Serie A so amazingly special.

This wasn’t a defensive match where team score and apply the “catenaccio” defense, or a tactical boring match.

Inter Milan 3-2 Juventus – The Real Story Of Derby d’Italia

MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 23: Francesco Pio Esposito of FC Internazionale Milano celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Pisa SC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on January 23, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

This was open, attacking, high-quality football between two teams that came to play, even if one of them is currently 15 points behind the other in the table.

Let’s give Juventus some credit: Spalletti’s team showed up to win. They played well, and with courage even when they lost a player.

They exposed vulnerabilities in Inter’s backline and scored to goals exploiting Inter’s defensive weaknesses.

For a team trailing the league leaders by 15 points, they didn’t play and sit deep and hope for a point. They came to win, and brava Juve for these efforts.

But here’s the context that I have difficulty to understand: Inter leads Juventus by 15 points and sits at the top of Serie A.

The Nerazzurri have built a strong lead not through luck or favorable referees, but through consistency and the ruthlessness of winners.

Second-place AC Milan seats in second positions at 8 points from Inter. Think about that for a second. Albeit with a game in hand.

This kind of dominance is not random. It’s reached based on discipline, hard work, and yes, the ability to win even when not playing your best football.

Inter Milan 3-2 Juventus – Bianconeri Are No Victims

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Manuel Locatelli of Juventus celebrates after scoring their team’s second goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Saturday’s match perfectly showed this. Inter suffered two goals and showed weakness at the back and Inter’s coach will have to work harder to fix this.

And yet again, Inter won, and created many goals opportunities. That’s what champions do. Inter win the matches where they’re not playing their best football.

They win when the opponent plays well. They win even when circumstances, controversial or not, could give easy excuses.

Inter’s three points on Saturday was a demonstration of the mentality that has them running away with the Scudetto.

The media’s fixation on the red card does a disservice to both teams and to Serie A football fans around the world.

It reduces Juventus‘ performance to that of victims, when they actually played a really good match. It hurts Inter’s achievement by suggesting their victory was not deserved.

Red Card Controversy Shouldn’t Ruin An Amazing Match

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Piotr Zielinski of FC Internazionale scores their team’s third goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Most importantly, it robs neutral observers and fans alike of the chance to celebrate what was really great football.

Were there refereeing mistakes? Absolutely. Are there refereeing mistakes in every single match played across every league in the world? Absolutely.

The question is whether we allow one bad decision to ruin 90 minutes of quality football.

The Derby d’Italia delivered drama, five goals, technical football, and the kind of intensity that makes these type of matches amazing.

Juventus proved they’re not giving up despite the points gap and being 5th in the table. Inter proved they have the winners’ mentality and can win even when they are not perfect.

And they weren’t.

That’s the story that should be told by the media.

The red card will be forgotten by next week. What I will remember is the quality of this match, and what it showed about the talent of both teams.

Everyone should remember this match as “un fantastico derby d’ Italia.”

By: Andrea Zanon