Resilient Inter stays ahead of chasing pack
Source: Agencies |
March 2, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SERIE A leader Inter Milan shrugged off the suspensions of four players and the concession of an early goal to win 3-2 at Udinese on Sunday.
Three straight draws had slashed Inter's advantage at the top but its famed resilience coupled with some fantastic play kept the champion four points above AC Milan, which beat Atalanta 3-1.
Inter was without the suspended Walter Samuel, Ivan Cordoba, Esteban Cambiasso and Sulley Muntari following last weekend's fiery 0-0 draw with Sampdoria and had coach Jose Mourinho banned from the bench.
Midfielder Thiago Motta was forced to play in central defense and Kenya winger McDonald Mariga was handed a first start while struggling Samuel Eto'o was still only a substitute.
Udinese, four points above the drop zone, had a great start when Simone Pepe rifled in after Antonio Di Natale's pass but Inter was soon level thanks to Mario Balotelli's angled shot from the edge of the area on six minutes.
Right back Maicon then put the visitors 2-1 up after a fine move midway through the first half and Diego Milito, who grabbed the opener in the midweek Champions League win over Chelsea, headed the third just before the break.
Serie A topscorer Di Natale scored a penalty early in the second period after a handball to set up a nervous finale.
Milan fought off relegation-threatened Atalanta at the San Siro after Alexandre Pato's first-half double but the striker went off with a thigh injury and is a doubt for Saturday's game at AS Roma.
Injury-hit Roma in third slipped seven points behind Inter after surrendering a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Napoli, which equalized through Marek Hamsik's stoppage-time penalty.
Palermo moved up to fourth on 43 points after a 2-0 win at Juventus, courtesy of goals from Fabio Miccoli and Igor Budan.
Juventus, which lost for the first time under Alberto Zaccheroni, is level with Napoli in fifth with less than a third of the season to go.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
