March 19, 2010
Italian Serie A- Inter Lost 3-1 against Catania
By Stephen Lars
Internazionale FC revealed the bad condition of the team after losing 3-1 against Calcio Catania during the 28th round of the Italian Serie A. Apparently, the UEFA Champions League was starting to feel the pressure of the knockout matches. They seem to have lost the rhythm and the intensity they demonstrated early in the season.
During the match with Catania, Inter started at a slow pace. The Rossazzurri took advantage of the pace. From the beginning, Catania based their strategy on constantly attacking the defense. This method was apparently successful as they obtained several chances to score. A couple of headers of Uruguayan Jorge Martinez started the action. Martinez was the most notable player in the match. Argentine midfielder Adrian Ricchiuti also threatened the goal of Julio Cesar on two occasions.
Meanwhile, Inter could neither organize themselves as a team nor develop their tactical game to its fullest. Inter felt the pressure imposed Catania who were playing well and doing their best to climb the standings in the Italian League. Inter was unable to respond or even mount credible attacks on their opponents during the first half.
Mourinho attempted to reverse his team’s situation in the second half by making some modifications in the midfield. He removed McDonald Mariga and replaced him with Ricardo Quaresma. That seems to do the trick as Inter recovered and began playing more aggressively. The stunned host team seemed unable to react with decisiveness which encouraged the Inter players to play a much better defense.
Controlling their game, Inter began to attack and make some headway. Inter’s Samuel Eto'o, who knew how to decode the plays of the rivals, performed very well and was able to enter their area. There, Eto’o found Diego Milito and passed the ball. The Argentine took the ball and easily placed himself in front of the goal and kicked a wicked shot that struck the bottom of Mariano Andujar’s goal at minute 54.
While this goal energized the visitors, Catania reacted quickly to stop Inter from scoring again. Catania Striker, Giuseppe Mascara, made an excellent play and advanced to the opponents’ area where Maxi Lopez received the ball and very accurately threw the ball through the goal of Inter, tying the game at minute 74.
Inter immediately reacted by once again changing some players. Mourinho replaced Esteban Cambiasso with Sulley Muntari. However, this change was not as effective as previously. Minutes after Muntari entered the field; he committed a foul and was yellow carded. Shortly thereafter he did it again and was thrown out of the game. The penalty taken by Mascara at minute 81 brought the score to 2-1.
In closing, Catania thumped the visitors' defense once again and managed to score their third goal of the match that ended 3-1 in favor of the locals. This defeat put at risk the leadership of Internazionale (59), who is now only one point away from Milan (58). A.C Milan beat Chievo 1-0 on Saturday.
About the Author
Stephen Lars has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.