(Watch Highlights) Inter Milan beat Juventus, Vidal says Antonio Conte’s side can win Serie A

Inter comfortably out-played Juventus in the Derby d’Italia, as Nicolò Barella assisted ex-Bianconeri star Arturo Vidal and then scored the second himself.

This wasn’t just a Derby d’Italia, but also a battle to see who would be the main Scudetto contenders to chase down leaders Milan. The Nerazzurri had practically a full squad to choose from, with ex-Juve midfielder Arturo Vidal, but Matthijs de Ligt, Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado had COVID-19 with Paulo Dybala injured. Both teams had to play extra time in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.

There were fireworks let off outside the stadium by the Curva Nord, Inter ultras, creating quite a lot of smoke in the arena for the first few minutes.

Juve had the first chance, Adrien Rabiot stinging Samir Handanovic’s gloves, but Federico Chiesa was offside when he set up Cristiano Ronaldo to score on the rebound.

However, Inter took the lead when Nicolò Barella’s cross with his left foot sailed over Lautaro Martinez for a Vidal header, getting in front of Danilo from six yards. It was the Chilean’s first Serie A goal for the Nerazzurri and he did it against his former club.

Wojciech Szczesny then flew to palm away a Romelu Lukaku counter, with Lautaro Martinez ballooning the rebound over the bar.

Romelu Lukaku turned Giorgio Chiellini brilliantly, but the veteran got back for a second tackle and Lautaro again fired off target.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a couple of long-range efforts, but the Bianconeri were far too predictable. Instead, Barella was dominant in midfield and set up another big chance that Lukaku scuffed into the arms of Szczesny.

The Juventus goalkeeper had to be at full stretch to punch a cross off Lukaku’s head.

Inter doubled their lead after the restart with a fantastic searching pass from deep by Alessandro Bastoni, as Barella sealed his MOTM status with a great first touch, sprinting away from defenders to blast into the roof of the net.

Andrea Pirlo made a triple substitution and Weston McKennie immediately made an impact with a towering header smothered by Handanovic, but Alvaro Morata’s similar attempt was over the bar.

Lautaro Martinez ran half the length of the field only to curl wide again and Rodrigo Bentancur’s effort was charged down, but Juve seemed to be completely lacking ideas and enthusiasm.

They only genuinely tested Samir Handanovic with a Federico Chiesa snapshot on 87 minutes, readjusting to palm it away with one hand.

Frank Lampard’s cousin identifies four Chelsea stars who start every Blues game

Jamie Redknapp has identified Mason Mount as one of four Chelsea stars that should start every game.

The pundit named Mount along with summer signings Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Redknapp said: “Energy, he [Mount] had energy.

“I looked at times today you’re thinking [Christian] Pulisic might do something, [Hakim] Ziyech had a couple of moments but not enough.

“But what Mason Mount did today is he set the tempo all game.

“Frank’s got a few players in that team right now that he will be picking every single week; he [Mount] is one, Mendy, Thiago Silva’s incredible, Chilwell.

“Apart from that, I think there’s only a few of them. He [Mount] was the man today for Chelsea.”

French national team boss explains why he has refused to call Karim Benzema to Les Bleus

Didier Deschamps has explained the rationale behind his consistent exemption of Karim Benzema to the French national despite posting superlative performances for Real Madrid.

Benzema had remarked in an interview that Deschamps wasn’t picking him because he was being pressured by a racist sector of French society and that Benzema, as a man of Algerian heritage, wasn’t accepted in the same way a white man would be.

Deschamps hasn’t called the Real Madrid striker up to the national team since the Mathieu Valbuena case broke out, according to a report in Marca.

Five years have passed in the meantime, with the legal proceedings still proceeding. Deschamps has never before outlined exactly why he refuses to call on Benzema, but in a recent interview he’s admitted that the striker’s comments about him will never be forgotten.

“It’s left a mark,” Deschamps said of the interview as cited by Football Espana.

“Even if over time it’s forgotten a bit, I can’t forget it. It’s not only to do with Benzema – there were also other statements from other people that led to this violent act that affects my family.

“When it comes to me as the choice of coach, the tactics, the technical aspect, [such criticism] is normal and doesn’t matter. But here a line is crossed.

“It affects my name, my family. For me, this is unacceptable. Saying such things could lead to verbal and physical aggression, and I’m the one who suffers the consequences. We cannot forget, I cannot forget. I will never forget it.”