Final score

15 October 2011 18:00

Catania
6' (2nd half) Lodi (P)
2' (2nd half) Almiron
2 - 1
Inter
6' Cambiasso
Referee: Daniele Orsato / Linesmen: Di Liberatore, Maggiani / Fourth official: Rizzoli
Watch highlights
Minute Text commentary
46' The first half ends 0-1 between Catania and Inter, with a goal in the 6th minute courtesy of Cambiasso
45' The referee adds a minute of injury time
43' Yellow card for Spolli for his foul on Milito
41' Away from the ball Pazzini and Bellusci tussle. The referee whistles against Pazzo
37' Spolli goes to the turf after a challenge from Muntari
36' Free kick for Catania. Spolli leaps for it but Lucio clears
33' Catania on the counterattack: Isco feeds Gomez but the ball bounces awkwardly as he shoots, spinning upwards and into Castellazzi's arms
29' Pazzini flagged for offside
27' Maicon finds Milito and "El Principe" crosses low from the right. Legrottaglie deflects it for a corner
25' Samuel with a foul from behind on Gomez
24' Nagatomo closes down Gomez and gives away a corner
18' Gomez, from deep, tries to cross but is unlucky on the rebound
16' Catania threaten when Izco crosses from the right. Castellazzi stays on his line but Maicon clears with his right
13' Almiron tries from outside the box. Off target
13' Milito's attempt from the edge of the box is blocked by Spolli
11' Pazzini flagged for offside
6' GOAL FOR INTER! The Nerazzurri work the ball around and find Maicon on the right; his cross to the far post is volleyed home by Cambiasso
4' Samuel shuts out Gomez, who was played in by Ricchiuti
2' Catania have started strongly here. Izco tries to catch out Castellazzi with a lob: off target
1' Welcome to the Stadio Massimino, where we're all set for the 2011/12 Serie A fixture between Catania and Inter
1' The Nerazzurri take the kick-off and we're away. FORZA INTER!!!
1' Zanetti, Cambiasso and Muntari start in midfield, with Stankovic in the hole behind Pazzini and Milito
1' With Julio Cesar unavailable, Castellazzi starts between the sticks with Lucio and Samuel in front of him; Maicon and Nagatomo full-backs
Minute Text commentary
49' After 4 minutes of injury time the match ends: Catania 2-1 Inter. The Nerazzurri remain with 4 points in the standings
49' Yellow card shown to Bellusci
47' Muntari passes to Cambiasso, who is closed down
45' Orsato signals for 4 minutes of injury time
43' Maicon takes a 2nd consecutive corner. It is cleared to Muntari, whose shot goes much too high to trouble the Catania keeper
41' Almiron clears for a corner with Zarate lurking at the far post
39' Catellani attempts to pick out Izco at the far post but his cross is off
37' Castellazzi rescues Inter with a crucial save on Catellani's shot on a Catania counterattack
36' Substitution for Catania: Gomez comes off, Catellani comes on
34' Yellow card to Delvecchio for his foul on Zarate
30' A chance for Catania: Delvecchio with a diagonal shot, well saved by Castellazzi
28' Zarate shoots on goal with his right. Saved by Andujar
26' Zarate, after contact with Lodi in the box, goes down and is booked for diving
25' Substitution for Catania: Ricchiuti comes off, Delvecchio comes on
22' Maicon crosses for Zarate, who misses his chance due to Andujar's intervention
20' Substitution for Catania: Bergessio comes off, Maxi Lopez comes on
19' Andujar comes off his line to take the ball from Pazzini
17' Substitution for Inter: Samuel comes off with a muscle problem, Cordoba takes his place for his first appearance of the season
16' Castellazzi parries a shot from Gomez and gives away a corner
15' Substitution for Inter: Milito comes off, Zarate comes on
15' Substitution for Inter: Stankovic comes off, Alvarez comes on
14' Maicon crosses to the centre for Muntari but Bellusci clears with his head
11' Bergessio flagged for offside
10' Milito flagged for a dubious offside call
6' GOAL FOR CATANIA. Lodi converts the penalty
5' Actually, Castellazzi went to the ground and played the ball without touching the opponent, who let himself fall over
5' Orsato awards a penalty to Catania
5' Yellow card to Castellazzi for his late challenge on Bergessio
4' Maicon crosses to Muntari, whose scissor-kick is off target
2' GOAL FOR CATANIA. Bergessio breaks forward on the counter and lays off for Almiron, who curls a first-time shot beyond Castellazzi
1' The second half between Catania and Inter gets underway
1' No substitutions were made at half time
Zanetti
5.59
5.59
Cordoba
4.8
4.8
Stankovic
3.72
3.72
Cambiasso
5.54
5.54
Samuel
4.12
4.12
Maicon
4.67
4.67
Muntari
3.26
3.26
Milito
3.65
3.65
Lucio
3.62
3.62
Castellazzi
5.48
5.48
Pazzini
3.8
3.8
Nagatomo
4.1
4.1
Alvarez
3.35
3.35
Zarate
3.74
3.74
Average rating 4.25
4 shots on target 2
6 shots off target 3
15 fouls committed 10
6 corners 5
8 offsides 4
50% ball possession 50%
Match-up between ex-Roma coaches from 2010/11

This is the first time Montella and Ranieri have faced each other as coaches. In the 2010/11 season they both coached Roma: Ranieri resigned after the 4-3 defeat away to Genoa (20 February 2011) and was replaced by Montella.

Montella chasing first success as coach against Inter - the team he scored against most

This is the third time Montella has taken on the Nerazzurri as a coach and he has yet to win: 1 draw and 1 defeat in the two legs of the 2010/12 Coppa Italia semi-final. As a player, Montella was involved in 19 competitive matches against the Nerazzurri, 17 in Serie A and 2 in Coppa Italia: 4 wins for Montella, 6 draws and 9 wins for Inter. Montella hit the net 12 times in those 19 games, making Inter - joint with Fiorentina - his favourite target.

One defeat for Ranieri (in 1988) in 13 games against Catania

Ranieri, who plied his trade at Catania as a player for two years (1982/83 and 1983/84, 62 appearances and 1 goal in Serie A and Serie B), has faced his former side as a coach 13 times in competitive fixtures before today. He has won 6, drawn 6 (all 1-1) and lost only 1, the defeat coming way back on 4 December 1988: 1-0 in Sicily (Serie C-1).

Fort Massimino

Catania have lost just one of their last 11 home games in competitive fixtures: that was on 17 April 2011 when, in Serie A, they were beaten 1-4 by Lazio. Of the other 10 matches taken into consideration, the Sicilians have won 8 and drawn 2.

No sendings off in 2011/12 Catania games

Catania are one of 4 teams - along with Fiorentina, Lazio and Udinese - that are yet to see a sending off in any of their matches in the Serie A 2011/12 season so far, neither on their own team or on the opposition's.

100 games in Italy for Andujar

Should he play today, Catania keeper Mariano Gonzalez Andujar will celebrate his 100th appearance with Italian clubs. His previous 99 appearances - wearing the colours of Palermo and Catania - are divided as follows: 88 in Serie A, 4 in Coppa Italia and 7 in European competition. Andujar made his competitive debut for an Italian club on 20 October 2005: Maccabi Petah Tikva 1-2 Palermo (UEFA Cup).

Inter's 13-game scoring streak against Catania

Inter have scored at least once in each of their last 13 competitive matches against Catania (home and away) - 37 goals in total. The last time the Nerazzurri failed to score against them was on 8 January 1984: 0-0 in a Serie A fixture played at the Stadio Cibali (as Catania's home ground was known back then). On that day there was a player called Claudio Ranieri amongst the Sicilian ranks; the same Ranieri who will be in charge of the Nerazzurri this evening.

Inter seeking 3rd consecutive away win for first time in 2 years

Inter have won their last 2 competitive away fixtures: against Bologna (1-3 in Serie A) and CSKA Moscow (2-3 in the Champions League). The last time the Nerazzurri didn't win away was on 20 September when they lost to Novara (3-1). Should the Nerazzurri win again this afternoon, it would be their best winning run away from home since October-November 2009, when they put together 4 consecutive victories in Serie A and the Champions League.

3 penalties conceded by Inter in first 5 Serie A games - first time since 3 points for a win were introduced

Inter have had more penalties awarded against them than any other side in Serie A 2011/12: 3 in their first 5 matches, of which 2 were converted and 1 missed. Since the introduction of 3 points for a win, Nerazzurri goalkeepers have never had to face so many spot kicks in the first 450 minutes of league action.

DA IMPLEMENTARE
wins(10) draws(2) defeats(5)

CATANIA - Inter were at the Stadio Angelo Massimino, and things still weren't going right. The game ended as a 2-1 defeat against Catania, and once again it was a penalty – the fourth one awarded against the Nerazzurri this season – that decided the match.

Inter quickly took the lead through Cambiasso on a cross from Maicon in the 6th minute, and the left-footed volley from "El Cuchu" made it 0-1. Then everything changed in the second half. First came a great goal from Almiron, followed by a penalty awarded for a foul on Berghessio, although it was clear that the player allowed himself to fall under contact with Castellazzi. Lodi then stepped up to the spot and made it 2-1.

FIRST HALF - Claudio Ranieri had to deal with the absence of two suspended players (Ranocchia and Obi) and six players who were still unavailable (Sneijder, Chivu, Coutinho, Forlan, Julio Cesar and Poli). To face Catania he chose Castellazzi in goal, a 4-man midfield of Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari and Stankovic in support of attackers Milito and Pazzini.

A heavy rain welcomed Inter onto the pitch of the Stadio Angelo Massimino and the meeting was a special return for Ranieri; from 1982 to 1984 he wore the Rossoazzurra shirt for a total of 92 matches. And the Nerazzurri coach managed to transmit his own enthusiasm to his team, which went ahead after only 6 minutes of play. It came courtesy of Cambiasso, who finished off a move initiated by Milito and Maicon with a diagonal volley from his left foot to make the score 1-0. The Sicilians showed their teeth in the 16th minute through Izco, when the Italo-Argentine crossed from the end-line and sent a dangerous ball that Maicon cleared with Castellazzi rooted to his line. A chance for Inter came in minute 28 with a cross from Maicon for Milito, whose shot was deflected by Legrottaglie for a corner. In the 33rd minute Izco took off like a bullet and found Gomez in ahead of him, but the Argentine scuffed his shot and Castellazzi collected the rebound, unaffected by the pressure of Bergessio. Three minutes later Spolli went down after contact with Muntari on a corner but was able to continue playing in the rain that showed no sign of stopping. After a minute of injury time both teams went into the dressing rooms with the score at 0-1 from Cambiasso's goal.

SECOND HALF – The whistle blew to start play and Catania immediately became dangerous. Another deadly counterattack in the 47th minute brought them level thanks to Almiron who, served by Bergessio, shot first-time past a helpless Castellazzi. Inter responded at the other end when Maicon crossed to Muntari who had a go with a scissor-kick, but his ambitious attempt was off target. On another Catania attack Berghessio took off and faced down Castellazzi one-on-one before letting himself fall in what was an honest to goodness dive as the keeper went low for the ball and made contact only with the ground.  However, Orsato saw it differently. He booked the Nerazzurri keeper and awarded a penalty that Lodi converted to make the score 2-1.

Inter did not give up. After some nice build-up, Maicon crossed into the box but the danger was cleared by Bellusci. In the 60th minute Ranieri made three substitutions: two tactical (Alvarez and Zarate for Stankovic and Milito) and one obligatory (Samuel left for a muscle problem, replaced by Cordoba in his first appearance of the season). In the 73rd minute Zarate tried his luck from distance, but the ball ended up directly in the hands of Andujar. And two minutes later another excellent chance fell to Catania when Castellazzi saved with his feet on Delvecchio's shot, which Cordoba then cleared for a corner. In the 84th minute Castellazzi was again the protagonist; Catellani seemed sure to bag Catania's third goal when he was sent clear on a long pass, only to see the Nerazzurri keeper, facing him one-on-one in the box, palm the low shot away. Orsato added 4 minutes of injury time and Inter attempted to make the most of it, besieging the Sicilian box until the last possible moment. The ball would not go in, however, and the match ended at 2-1, leaving Inter with the same 4 points in the standings.

CATANIA 2-1 INTER (HT: 0-1)
Scorers: Cambiasso 6, Almiron 47, Lodi 51.

Catania: 21 Andujar; 3 Spolli, 6 Legrottaglie, 14 Bellusci; 13 Izco, 4 Almiron, 10 Lodi, 19 Ricchiuti (Delvecchio 70), 33 Capuano; 17 Gomez (Catellani 81), 18 Bergessio (Maxi Lopez 65).
Unused subs: 30 Campagnolo, 7 Lanzafame, 12 Marchese, 20 Sciacca.
Coach: Vincenzo Montella.

Inter: 12 Castellazzi; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 25, Samuel (Cordoba 62), 55 Nagatomo; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 77 Muntari, 5 Stankovic (Alvarez 60); 7 Pazzini, 22 Milito (Zarate 60).
Unused subs: 21 Orlandoni, 8 Thiago Motta, 42 Jonathan, 30 Castaignos.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Schio).
Booked: Spolli 43, Castellazzi 50, Zarate 71, Delvecchio 79, Bellusci 90+4.
Added time: 1 + 4 minutes.

starting lineups

Andujar 12 Castellazzi
Legrottaglie 13 Maicon
Spolli 6 Lucio
Marchese 25 Samuel
Bellusci 55 Nagatomo
Almiron 4 Zanetti
Izco 19 Cambiasso
Lodi 77 Muntari
Ricchiuti 5 Stankovic
Gomez 7 Pazzini
Bergessio 22 Milito

substitutes

Campagnolo 21 Orlandoni
Lanzafame 2 Cordoba
Lopez 42 Jonathan
Barrientos 8 Motta
Sciacca 11 Alvarez
Delvecchio 28 Zarate
Catellani 30 Castaignos