Inter beat Juventus 2-1 in Perth as Chelsea crush Milan 3-0 in Jakarta

Inter overcome Juventus in Perth

Inter defeated Juventus 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in Perth, Australia, with Cristian Chivu's side showing a more polished structure than their opponents. Dimarco opened the scoring in the first half, finishing a move set up by Bonny. Diouf doubled the lead after the break, beating Juventus goalkeeper Di Gregorio, who was described as at fault on the play. Conceição scored late to reduce the deficit, but Inter closed out their tour with a win that confirmed their advance in preparation.

Chivu offered a measured assessment of his team's condition after the match, noting that the squad still needs time to reach full physical sharpness.

“We must always think that we can do better, but after the work of these weeks I am satisfied. We are still missing something at the level of legs, we need a few more weeks and a few more training sessions to find physical sharpness. I didn't like the second half much, we conceded space and possession.”

Chivu also praised Juventus and their young players, stating that they are a strong team who will have their say this season, and that in goal he does not speak of hierarchies, as for him there are no starters and reserves.

Spalletti acknowledges Juventus lag behind

Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti admitted his side trailed Inter in tactical organisation during the first half.

“I know my players, they are strong players with an important level, but we have to see how we manage to find the right balance. Inter showed that they were more of a team than us in the first half, it is a process we absolutely must go through.”

Milan crushed by Chelsea in Jakarta

In the Indonesian Super Cup in Jakarta, Milan suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, with the scoreline reflecting a gap that extended across every department. Joao Pedro, recently left out of Brazil's 26-man World Cup squad by coach Carlo Ancelotti, scored twice. The third goal was attributed to Caicedo by Il Messaggero, while Fanpage identified Quenda, another summer signing from Sporting Lisbon, as the scorer. Milan coach Ruben Amorim fielded a rotated squad with several young players but the team appeared short of ideas and defensively fragile.

Amorim sought to frame the performance as part of the preparation process.

“We knew we would suffer a bit, but we want to propose this type of challenge to our players. Against teams like Chelsea we will never press in this way, but we are here to prepare to win the first official match of the season and give confidence to the players. We also had many young players in the team, we are on the right path.”

Palestra shines for Chelsea

Marco Palestra, who joined Chelsea from Atalanta for a reported 60 million euros (57 million plus 3 million in bonuses) on a six-year deal worth 5 million euros net per season, delivered a standout performance against Milan. Inter had pursued the player before he chose Chelsea, a decision that prompted comment from Inter executive Marotta. Palestra, formerly of Cagliari, had drawn scepticism from some Chelsea supporters after the team's earlier friendly defeats to Tottenham and Juventus, but his display against Milan, including a viral acceleration in tight space, drew comparisons to Achraf Hakimi on social media.