Saturday 21 August 2010

Inter trophy run continues with Supercoppa

Internazionale recovered from a goal down to beat Roma 3-1 at San Siro and win the Supercoppa Italiana for the fifth time.

It is Inter's fourth trophy in as many months having won the Serie A title, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League last season, and the first for Rafael Benitez as Inter coach after replacing Jose Mourinho in the summer.

Roma were dangerous on the counterattack in the early stages and, after Mirko Vucinic and Jeremy Menez had wasted promising chances, it was no surprise when they took a 21st-minute lead. John Arne Riise sprung the offside trap and dispatched Francesco Totti's defence-splitting pass beyond Julio Cesar.

Inter posed the greater threat thereafter, primarily through Douglas Maicon's thrusting runs down the right, though it took a defensive mistake to bring them level four minutes before the break when Vucinic played a risky pass to Juan, whose failure to control let in Goran Pandev.

The Giallorossi started the second half as they did the first, threatening through a Menez volley and a long-range effort from Riise.

Diego Milito then had an effort disallowed for offside but was instrumental in helping Inter take the lead after 71 minutes, finding space on the right and crossing low for Samuel Eto'o to finish from close range. Nine minutes later the Cameroon striker confirmed victory by dispossessing Rodrigo Taddei and finishing with a precise low shot after a one-two with Wesley Sneijder.

After the match Benitez said: "We showed very strong character, especially after conceding the goal. It was the first competitive game of the season so it's normal not to have fresh legs right from the start but I'm very happy with the reaction of the team."

More silverware could be forthcoming on Friday when the Nerazzurri play Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco.

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, meanwhile, said: "The key to the game was probably our mistake just before the interval when we gave them the chance to equalise. However, we continued to play well in the second half and I don't think 3-1 is a fair result considering the performances of the two teams."

The new Serie A season kicks off next weekend with Roma welcoming newly-promoted Cesena to the Italian capital next Saturday evening, while Inter begin with a trip to Bologna on the Monday night.

Source: UEFA

No comments:

Post a Comment