Udinese 0 - 1 Inter Milan
After Juventus’ shock 3-3 home draw against Chievo, Serie A leaders Inter looked to increase their advantage on top to nine points as they visited mid-table Udinese, a traditionally difficult opponent for the Nerazzurri.
Jose Mourinho’s outfit played in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Dejan Stankovic behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli up front, while the hosts played with a 4-3-3 system with Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella, and Antonio Floro Flores in attack.
First Half
The start of the match was slow-going, with the first shot on goal coming from Udinese, Gokhan Inler firing an effort from the edge of the area that was well grabbed by Julio Cesar in the 7th minute.
The next threat also came from the home side, in the 9th minute, when former Inter full back Giovanni Pasquale made a good run on the left and played a long ball in for Floro Flores, who played it back to Pepe, whose shot was blocked by central defender Christian Chivu.
Inter started getting into the match by the quarter hour mark, and in the 22nd minute Sulley Muntari came close to giving the champions the lead. Ibrahimovic received the ball on the edge of the area and played it back to the Ghanaian midfielder, whose first-time shot from distance went just wide of the post.
Just after the half-hour mark, there was a controversial episode in Inter’s penalty area, as Quagliarella controlled the ball on a great pass by Asamoah Gyan and went for goal, only for Julio Cesar to parry the ball away from him. The home crowd claimed a penalty but from the replays it was unclear whether the goalkeeper touched the striker’s feet or if he just let himself fall.
This dubious episode gave the visitors a scare, and in the 38th minute there was another chance for Udinese, as Asamoah played another good ball to Inler, who made a run to the by-line before crossing the ball in, but it found no one.
Two minutes later Quagliarella tried to do everything himself, making a strong run down the middle before firing at goal, but he sent the ball wide of the target.
The first half finished on a 0-0 scoreline that reflected the way things went, although Udinese did slightly more to take the lead than Inter.
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Second Half
No changes were made by either coach during half time. The second half began the same way the first half ended, with the home side attacking and Inter sitting back.
In the 51st minute, Pepe played a good long ball to Quagliarella, who found himself near the area but Ivan Cordoba made a good clearence on the Italian international.
Three minutes later, Inler received the ball from Quagliarella and tried a shot on goal from the edge of the area that went inches wide of the post, as the home side continued to push for an opening goal.
A tepid response came from the visitors in the 57th minute, when Ibrahimovic made a run on the right, and after some decent dribbles he fired a shot on goal, which was comfortably blocked by goalkeeper Emanuele Belardi.
Five minutes later, Quagliarella looked certain to score as he fired a volley from around the penalty spot, but Julio Cesar came to Inter’s rescue once again with a brilliant save with the tip of his finger.
Two minutes after that, Inter finally responded as Balotelli found Ibrahimovic on the right with a good pass, and the Swede played it in for the onrushing Stankovic, who managed to get a touch on the ball but he sent it just wide.
In the 76th minute, the Nerazzurri managed to take the lead virtually out of nothing, and with some good fortune. Ibrahimovic once again started the move, keeping the ball away from two defenders before playing it in for substitute Patrick Vieira, who tried to get it past Belardi but saw the ball bounce off the goalkeeper, and it then came off midfielder Mauricio Isla’s foot before rolling into the goal.
This opening goal loosened Inter up and four minutes later they threatened to score a second, as the impressive Maxwell was found on the left and played in a good low cross in the area, where Esteban Cambiasso was anticipated just in time.
In the first two minutes of a six-minute injury time period, both sides came close to scoring. In the 92nd minute, Ibrahimovic made a great run past three defenders and fired a shot from the edge of the area that went just wide of the post, ignoring the unmarked Muntari.
Two minutes later, Asamoah nearly found a dramatic equaliser as he headed the ball on a cross from the right by Christian Obodo, but again it went narrowly wide.
In the end Isla’s own goal proved decisive, and allowed Inter to extend their lead on top of the table to nine points over Juventus. Meanwhile, Udinese are 14th with 36 points.
Teams
Udinese (4-3-3): Belardi; Isla, Zapata, Felipe, Pasquale; Inler (83’ Obodo), D’Agostino, Asamoah; Pepe, Quagliarella, Floro Flores. Coach: Marino.
Inter (4-3-1-2): Julio Cesar (71’ Toldo); Santon (67’ Vieira), Cordoba, Chivu, Maxwell; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari; Stankovic; Ibrahimovic, Balotelli (67’ Figo). Coach: Mourinho.
Goals: 76’ Isla o.g. (U)
Booked: Quagliarella, Pepe (U); Maxwell, Vieira (I)
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