Two matches have been played so far this weekend, and the more interesting result of the two has to be the 1-1 draw which was played out between Inter Milan and Brescia. The other match played was a 2-0 for Bologna against Lecce, with Di Vaio and Gimenez scoring simple tap ins.
But the match which will be attracting the media attention was at the San Siro, where Brescia almost managed to pull off a win against Rafa Benitez's side. The Inter squad is currently destroyed by injuries, with Benitez unable to utilize Julio Cesar, Thiago Motta, Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and Sulley Muntari. And this match Benitez has lost another couple of players to injury, first Maicon was substituted for a right thigh muscle problem, and then Walter Samuel awkwardly landed on his knee, twisting it and needing to be stretchered off. Wesley Sneijder also needed to be taken off at half time because he was apparently suffering from "lightheadedness", another blow for Benitez.
The game seemed to start well for Inter Milan, some good possession with a few shots scattered as Brescia started defensively. But 14 minutes in a long ball for Caracciolo wasn't dealt properly by Samuel and Lucio, and the Brescia captain managed to finish past Castellazzi to give the away side the lead. Then, Benitez's side began to panic, and Bresica made sure to cover up defensively to not allow Inter to have any goalbound chances.
Maicon had to be replaced around the half-hour mark, so Benitez chose to do so with Cordoba. Then when Samuel needed to be substituted as well, Benitez finally put in Santon, sliding Cordoba in the middle of defence with Lucio, and giving Santon the right wing to operate on. And Benitez had to take off Sneijder at halftime because of some "migraine problems", and Benitez decided to put in the young Nigerian Obi.
Inter pressed and pressed, with Pandev as useless as a stump, Eto'o dribbling too much, and Coutinho the only player providing danger to the Brescia goal. Milito, Obi, and Coutinho worked hard to make sure that Brescia remained on the defensive, and Santon was exceptional in tearing down the right wing to provide an attacking option. Eventually Inter Milan created the opportunity to score, Samuel Eto'o was brought down in the penalty box after one of his trademark dribbles, and referee Gava gave the penalty. Samuel Eto'o sent the keeper the wrong way with an unreachable and beautifully taken penalty into the bottom left corner of the net.
Regarding whether it was actually a penalty or not, it's a very tough call to make. Eto'o had been brought down plenty of times in the box where the referee could've called a penalty with certainty, yet the referee called one when it was slightly dubious. There was certainly pushing and maybe some tripping by the defender, but looking at the replay, it seems like Eto'o is slipping with his foot literally on top of the ball. Whether he's slipping because of the defender's push, or his own faulty traction, we don't really know.
So Inter manage to squeak a 1-1 draw where they were probably the better side, but I'm not sure they deserved a win. They had plenty of opportunities to score, one of which in the last minute of stoppage time with Diego Milito in front of an open net, volleying the ball over the goal, but Inter didn't put any away. Sure, they kept possession and had some goal-bound shots, but they still didn't score from open play, a worrying statistic for any Inter fans.
But what Inter fans should really be worried is the injury situation. I think that Samuel will be out for at least a month after his awkward and wince-causing knee injury, and Sneijder's migraine problem isn't a positive thing. But if you were to take the positives for Inter from this match: Santon is doing wonderfully and he can easily replace Maicon, Coutinho looks fantastic and was unlucky not to have a goal, and Milito is returning with a hardworking mentality.
What are your thoughts regarding these two matches? Was Inter Milan's draw a surprise for you? Please share your thoughts below by commenting!
5 comments… read them below or add one
You’re being too kind to the ref. How he could miss Sammy’s foot stepping on the ball will not be a mystery to conspiracy theorists. Too bad it didn’t happen to Palermo. Zamp would entertain us with his frothing at the mouth. But this kind of crap happens all too often in Serie A. Some stereotype the league as boring, but the real problem is the inconsistent (being kind) refereeing.
Maybe I was a bit kind, but Inter had a couple of penalty shouts throughout the game, and I remeber one with Diego Milito where he was evidently tripped. All in all I think that with all the penalty shouts that Inter had, they probably deserved a penalty.
As for the overall reffing of the Serie A, is it actually that bad? I don’t notice many problems in the Serie A like the ones which occur in the EPL. I don’t know if you’ve seen Nani’s goal against Tottenham last week, but that would’ve never happened in the Serie A. I think Italian refs make sure not to let yelling players influence their decisions, even if they’re Gattuso, Del Piero, or another well known superstar.
And I miss Zamparini’s comments a little. A little bit of controversy with Palermo would be good to give the general public a laugh.
I agree with Nic on the refs. In general the Italian refs are far more on the ball than the English. Italian refs are known for not taking shit from anyone, sure some have a bad decision here or there but rarely. In EPL refs have bad games! Entire games where they cock-up again n’ again!
How many bone-crunching injuries do we have in Serie A? . . .
How many in England? . . .
Physical game my ass! . . . Its just chicken shit or useless refs (or baught! just cause we don’t know about it doesn’t meen it doesn’t happen???) . . . just putting it out there . . .
As I mentioned in the ‘Highs and Lows for Italian Sides in Champions League’ comments the Nerazzurri might end the season empty handed if Benitez does not change his strategy and if the injury list continues to grow.
I think granting the penalty is unacceptable even if there were penalty shouts earlier. The problem here is a referee cannot compensate for a previous mistake by making another bad call. In this case, he should have let play go on and there is clearly no penalty.
I suggest the FIGC disciplinary committee suspend Eto’o for 2 games even if his intention was not to cheat the referee or at least that’s what we could see. I still would ban him for 2 matches.
Well Rami, I don’t think that banning Eto’o would do much good. I think it would only cause general outrage by many Inter fans, mainly because Eto’o didn’t try to con the referee. There’s not much that the FIGC can really do, and it would probably be best for them to remain silent and accept that while Eto’o was slipping on the ball, he was being pushed/touched by the defender, and the referee saw that as a penalty.
And regarding Walter Samuel, he’s probably going to be out for the entire rest of the season. I guess now Benitez will be sliding Chivu into the center of defence, giving Santon more playing time on the left, or the coach will insert Cordoba into the starting 11, leaving Santon on the bench. Bad news for Inter fans.