MILAN – The same team that played against Lille and the same result: Inter won 1-0 and claimed their first victory of the season at the Stadio Meazza, in Week 8 of Serie A 2011/12.
The decider came from a Sneijder corner on 34 minutes which Thiago Motta headed to put Inter in front. In the second half the Nerazzurri came close to scoring their second on more than one occasion, with Maicon even hitting the bar in the 73rd minute, but the match ended with the same score as the first half. The Nerazzurri now move on to seven points in the league table.
FIRST HALF - Claudio Ranieri reconfirmed his victorious starting line-up from the match against Lille in the Champions League. Therefore he picked Lucio and Chivu to play in front of Julio Cesar in the centre of defence, with Maicon and Nagatomo playing wide of them. The midfield was composed of Zanetti, Motta and Cambiasso, with Sneijder playing behind strikers Pazzini and Zarate.
Before the kick-off a minute's silence was held for Marco Simoncelli, the Honda rider who died earlier in an accident during the Malaysian GP in Sepang. The Nerazzurri president, Massimo Moratti stood with his hand on his heart.
The game opened with both teams testing each other out, Pazzini putting himself in the limelight with a neat backheel and various incursions into the penalty area. Zarate too, showed his skill finding open spaces and proving dangerous in one-on-one situations. Chievo stayed compact and were extremely cautious in defence. In the 19th minute Maicon turned the ball for Zarate, who shot left-footed: but it was no problem for Sorrentino who gathered the ball with ease. Three minutes later Zanetti and Motta worked a nice move, but the last ball was cut out by Jokic just inside the box. In the 24th minute Julio Cesar had to be sharp to deal with a right-footed shot from Hetemaj. The Nerazzurri were beginning to grow in confidence as Sneijder let loose a powerful right-footed shot on the half-hour mark, which just missed the post. On 33 minutes Sorrentino denied the Dutchman a goal from a free kick as he flew across the goalmouth to turn the ball away for a corner. The corner however was to result in Inter's lead. In the 34th minute, Thiago Motta headed home from Sneijder's corner. The goal gave the Nerazzurri a boost and Pazzini almost made it two, closely followed by Zarate and Sneijder. There was no added time and the teams went into the dressing rooms with the score at 1-0 to Inter.
SECOND HALF – The second half got underway without any changes in the line-ups. Inter had to back-pedal when Lucio risked a backpass and Julio Cesar's clearance went straight to Paloschi who wasted no time in shooting, but Chivu was there to hoof the ball upfield. In the 57th minute Maicon's right-footed power drive wasn't far off target and he was proving more and more dangerous for the Chievo defence. But Chievo didn't sit back, as Vacek tried a sharp right-foot and then Pellissier had a go. In the 65th minute Zanetti, Zarate and Pazzini combined to produce a skillful move but the Italy striker was closed down by Morero. A neat one-two between Maicon and Pazzini resulted in another right-footed shot from the full-back and the ball flew high over the bar. And it was Maicon again in the 73rd minute who shook the bar with another right-footed shot: the Nerazzurri came close to scoring their second, once again. On 76 minutes a Stankovic shot came off Frey's body hitting his right arm as he tried to pull it back. The Serb claimed for a penalty although the Chievo player had been trying to avoid the contact. Two minutes later Julio Cesar managed to parry a header from Cesar. In the 81st Sorrentino mesmerised Castaignos (who had come on for Pazzini), after he was set up by Stankovic. Julio Cesar had to be on his toes to deal with a shot from Moscardelli in the 82nd minute. Stankovic was unlucky to see his shot go wide in the 86th. Inter were really baring their teeth. After five minutes of added time the match between Inter and Chievo finished 1-0. This was the first win of the season for Inter at the Stadio Meazza, and their second (consecutive with that scoreline) by a margin of 1-0 after that against Lille.
INTER 1-0 CHIEVO (HT: 1-0)
Scorers: Motta 34.
Inter: 1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 26 Chivu, 55 Nagatomo; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 8 Motta; 10 Sneijder (Stankovic 66); 7 Pazzini (Castaignos 78), 28 Zarate (Obi 90)
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 2 Cordoba, 42 Jonathan, 22 Milito.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.
Chievo: 54 Sorrentino; 21 Frey, 4 Morero, 12 Cesar, 13 Jokic; 25 Vacek (Rigoni 83), 6 Bradley, 56 Hetemaj (Thereau 61); 8 Cruzado; 23 Paloschi (Moscardelli 66), 31 Pellissier
Unused subs: 17 Puggioni, 3 Andreolli, 5 Mandelli, 7 Sammarco.
Coach: Domenico Di Carlo.
Referee: Domenico Celi (Campobasso).
Bookings: Motta 31, Jokic 35, Maicon 43, Vacek 55.
Added time: 0 + 5 minutes.
Spectators: 48,058.
starting lineups
| Julio Cesar 1 |
Sorrentino |
| Maicon 13 |
Frey |
| Lucio 6 |
Morero |
| Chivu 26 |
Cesar |
| Nagatomo 55 |
Jokic |
| Zanetti 4 |
Vacek |
| Cambiasso 19 |
Bradley |
| Motta 8 |
Hetemaj |
| Sneijder 10 |
Cruzado |
| Pazzini 7 |
Paloschi |
| Zarate 28 |
Pellissier |
substitutes
| Castellazzi 12 |
Puggioni |
| Cordoba 2 |
Andreolli |
| Stankovic 5 |
Mandelli |
| Obi 20 |
Sammarco |
| Milito 22 |
Moscardelli |
| Castaignos 30 |
Rigoni |
| Jonathan 42 |
Thereau |
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