Lilian Thuram shook his head in disbelief at what was unfolding in Turin.

The Juventus great had a front-row seat for the latest Derby d’Italia spectacular. But this time, it was personal.

In the space of six minutes late in the second half, both of Thuram’s sons, Marcus and Khephren, had scored.

The latter’s effort was almost a replay of his brother’s goal, both finding the net with bullet headers from corners.  

Almost to stick the boot in, Khephren reminded Marcus after the game – which Juve snatched 4-3 late on with a Vasilije Adzic screamer – where he had received advice to work on his aerial game.

“Both he and my father tell me I’m not good with my head and should score more headers, so I was happy,” Khephren smiled.

There were no hard feelings, it seems. Marcus even appeared to be joking around with his younger sibling during the VAR check for Adzic’s winner in a moment that would spark the ire of many Interisti. But Khephren insisted it was simply brotherly love.

“He wasn’t laughing,” Khephren added. “He said ‘well done’ with his eyes, he was proud of me but sorry about the goal.”

Forget the Derby d’Italia, this was the Derby dei Fratelli Thuram.

There was the comedy factor as Ref Cam footage caught them looking like sheepish schoolboys when they were told off for jostling at a corner.

There was the in-match impact, as both scored at crucial moments to raise hopes of their respective teams taking the spoils in a game you could not take your eyes off.

And then there was the controversy. Marcus found himself in the centre of a storm of criticism not only for his apparent smile, but for not celebrating his goal after putting Inter 3-2 up.

Thuram-shaped fingerprints, for better or for worse, were all over this unforgettable match – but they were not the first siblings to score in the same Serie A game.

Istvan and Ferenc Nyers did so in 1949 during an Inter vs Lazio match, before the Insigne brothers Lorenzo and Roberto followed suit during Benevento vs Napoli in 2020.

The Thuram brothers may not have made history quite yet, but there is little doubt they will be central to their clubs in the season ahead.

For all the heat he is taking, Marcus is already sitting atop the capocannoniere charts with three goals in three games and an assist to boot. He has been the Nerazzurri’s top performer in a difficult start for new coach Cristian Chivu.

The anonymous performance of his strike partner Lautaro Martinez was a concern in Turin but, with Ange-Yoan Bonny and Francesco Pio Esposito still very raw, it highlighted the importance of one side of ThuLa picking up the slack when the other isn’t firing.

Last season is a prime example. Thuram started the season like a runaway train, scoring 12 league goals by Christmas as Martinez, struggling for sharpness after a busy summer top-scoring at the Copa America with Argentina, managed only five.

The second half of the campaign saw that dynamic flip on its head. As Thuram started to feel the effects of a gruelling calendar amid a run to the Champions League final, Coppa Italia semi-finals and Supercoppa Italiana final in Saudi Arabia, his fitness and form dipped.

Injuries hampered the final few months of his season and he scored just two Serie A goals after Christmas. Alessandro Bastoni even joked after Thuram’s opening-day double against Torino that the France star had “decided to go on holiday for the last six months.” How the Nerazzurri could have done with a fully-firing version of the Frenchman in those final few weeks when their Treble hopes came crumbling down.

Martinez picked up most of the slack, netting another seven times in Serie A and going on a tear in Europe with eight Champions League goals after New Year.

Keeping the pair as sharp as possible throughout the season and managing their workload will be a priority for Chivu, as will working with the talented but young and relatively inexperienced Esposito and Bonny to ensure they can contribute more than Marko Arnautovic, Joaquin Correa and Mehdi Taremi were able to last term.

One thing the Romanian certainly does not have time for is a media backlash.

“I haven’t seen it, I don’t know the context,” Chivu said when asked about Marcus’s smile immediately after the game. “I don’t know if anything happened, but let’s stop creating controversies because it always puts a stick in the spokes and it’s not good.”

A Gazzetta dello Sport report on Monday claimed that Marcus explained he had told Khephren “go on, tell the referee you committed a foul” during the VAR check – an explanation that has supposedly satisfied the club and his team-mates.

Over in Turin, Khephren could prove to be every bit as valuable to Igor Tudor’s aspirations in the year ahead.

The 24-year-old has become a nailed-on starter in this side after an impressive debut campaign amid the disruption of Thiago Motta’s sacking.

He was named player of the month in May after finishing the campaign strongly, before taking a spot in the Serie A team of the season too.

It was not long ago that central midfield was seen as a problem area for Juve, but Khephren and Manuel Locatelli have now struck up a partnership that Tudor feels he can rely on, with the two picking up where they left off by starting every game together this season.

Much has been made of Juve’s newfound abundance of options in attack, with Dusan Vlahovic, Jonathan David, Lois Openda, Francisco Conceicao, Kenan Yildiz and Edon Zhegrova competing for starting spots.

To get the best from them, Juve need midfielders who can move the ball well and provide a strong platform from which they can shine.

The younger Thuram will be crucial to this in Tudor’s 3-4-2-1 system. His all-round game is among the best in the league, with physicality and stamina to go with excellent dribbling, ball control and passing.

His 10 goal contributions (4G 6A) in Serie A last season were an impressive tally too – only Vlahovic (10G 4A) and Yildiz (7G 5A) boasted a better haul in the Juventus squad.

If Juve are to build on this hot start, Thuram will be at the heart of it. And now he’s learning to score headers too…