Final score

9 August 2012 20:45

Inter
0 - 2
Hajduk Split
13' (2nd half) Vukovic
23' Vukusic (P)
Referee: Clément Turpin / Linesmen: Gringore, Danos / Fourth official: Varela
Watch highlights
Minute Text commentary
47' The two minutes of added time are up and the first half finishes Inter 0-1 Hajduk Split
46' Blazevic smothers Coutinho's low drive
45' The fourth official's board shows two minutes of added time
45' Coutinho hammers a volley with his right but the ball flashes agonisingly over the top
39' Milito is well-found by Jonathan who clips the ball over the Croatian defence, but "El Principe" drags his shot wide
36' Guarin hits a powerful drive from 25 yards but Blazevic punches to safety
29' Sneijder hits a free-kick straight into the wall
25' Coutinho pokes the ball wide with the outside of his boot from Sneijder's pass and a good chance goes begging
24' Milic finds himself one on one with Handanovic but his low strike is diverted behind by the Nerazzurri 'keeper
23' Hajduk lead as Vukusic scores the penalty
22' Samuel fouls Vukovic in the area and Hajduk have a penalty
16' Coutinho gets a shot away from Zanetti's cross and the ball strikes the bar!
13' Cambiasso clears ahead of Oremus
12' Milito is caught a fraction offside
12' Guarin loses the ball in midfield, Vukovic latches onto it and shoots. The ball takes a deflection and Handanovic gets down well to save
10' First change for Hajduk as Maloca can't continue and he makes way for Jonjic
9' Long ball forward towards Vukovic but Hajduk can't make anything of it
6' Milito clashes heads with Maloca. The Argentine frontman needs to be patched up
6' Samuel is booked for a late challenge
1' Inter's first home match of the 2012/13 season is tonight in the Europa League third qualifying round second leg
1' The Croatian side kick off, Inter v Hajduk Split is underway
1' Zanetti, Cambiasso and Guarin form the 3-man midfield, appearance number 799 for the captain. Sneijder and Coutinho support Milito in attack
1' Stramaccioni picks Ranocchia and Samuel as his centre back pairing in front of Handanovic, with Jonathan and Mbaye the full-backs
Minute Text commentary
48' The game ends Inter 0-2 Hajduk Split. The Nerazzurri's 3-0 win in the first leg means they do enough to go through and move into the play-offs
45' The fourth official's board shows three minutes
41' Jonathan's ball for Milito doesn't find its intended target
40' Caktas is ajudged offside
39' Silvestre comes on for Sneijder for the Nerazzurri
38' Hajduk make their final change as Lustica replaces Vukovic
36' Blazevic uses his feet to good effect to deny Longo
34' Vukusic so nearly levels the tie after linking up with Jozinovic
28' Blazevic beats away Nagatomo's right-footed shot
26' Longo charges up the right but he just over-runs it and the ball goes out for a goal kick
25' Zanetti once again ghosts past Milic but the referee awards a goal kick
22' Sneijder's right-footed shot from distance is wayward
20' Blavezic puts the ball behind for a corner following Nagatomo's low cross from the left
19' Longo is very nearly in straight away but Blazevic comes out and gathers easily
18' Another substitution for the Nerazzurri as Stramaccioni sends on Longo for Coutinho
17' Vrsajevic picks up a booking
14' Hajduk make a second change as Caktas replaces Andrijasevic
13' Vukovic is cautioned for taking his shirt off to celebrate his goal
13' Hajduk lead 2-0. Vukovic scores a wonder goal as he controls the ball before thumping a volley into the top corner
10' Mbaye gives way to Nagatomo as Inter make their first change
10' Radosevic picks up a yellow card
7' Inter rightly call for a booking following a foul on Zanetti
5' Handanovic is out sharply to thwart Vukusic
1' The second half is underway with both sides unchanged
1' Coutinho again tries with his right but he is narrowly off target
Zanetti
7.44
7.44
Cambiasso
4.35
4.35
Samuel
3.79
3.79
Milito
4.37
4.37
Sneijder
5.75
5.75
Coutinho
6.28
6.28
Ranocchia
4.74
4.74
Nagatomo
5.63
5.63
Jonathan
4.51
4.51
Guarin
5.74
5.74
Mbaye
4.96
4.96
Longo
5.55
5.55
Silvestre
5.3
5.3
Handanovic
6.58
6.58
Average rating 5.36
6 shots on target 4
13 shots off target 6
5 fouls committed 12
4 corners 2
3 offsides 1
62% ball possession 38%
Inter under Stramaccioni: 100% home record; one blank drawn in 10 competitive fixtures

Andrea Stramaccioni has won all four home games since taking charge of the Nerazzurri first team – the last four of the 2011/12 Serie A campaign. In all ten competitive matches (home and away, Serie A and Europa League) under the young coach, Inter have failed to score just once, in the 0-0 draw at Fiorentina on 22 April. The Nerazzurri have struck 23 goals in the other nine matches.

No away wins in Europe for Hajduk since 2008; no away goals in 421 minutes

Hajduk Split haven't won a European fixture away from home since 31 July 2008, when they brushed aside Birkirkara in the UEFA Cup. The 9 away games they have played since then have yielded 3 draws and 6 defeats – all 5 of the last 5 played. The last time they avoided defeat was on 26 August 2010, a 1-1 draw away to Romanian outfit Unirea in the Europa League play-offs. The Croatians have been unable to find the target on their travels since Ibricic netted in the 29th minute of AEK Athens 3-1 Hajduk Split on 16 September 2010 (Europa League); 421 minutes have passed since then: the remaining 61 minutes of that tie, plus the full 90 minutes of the 0-2 defeats to Zenit St Petersburg and Anderlecht in the 2010/11 season, the 0-1 defeat to Stoke City in 2011/12 and the painless 0-1 defeat to Skonto in the second qualifying round last month.

Croatian sides are yet to win – and always concede – in Italy since the country's independence

Inter v Hajduk Split is the seventh time clubs from Croatia have ventured onto Italian soil in traditional European cup competitions since the country gained its independence. The travelling Croats have failed to record a single victory in their 6 previous attempts, with Italian sides having won 5 and 1 draw being played out. Furthermore, the Italian hosts have always put at least one goal past their Croatian visitors, scoring 11 in total. The only Croatian team to have come away unscathed was Hajduk Split themselves, when they drew 1-1 against Sampdoria in a UEFA Cup qualifier played at the Stadio Marassi on 30 August 2007.

DA IMPLEMENTARE
wins(0) draws(0) defeats(1)

MILAN - It won't go down as one of Inter's best starts to a season at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, but in spite of their 0-2 home defeat to Hajduk Split, they still did what they set out to do. Vukusic (23 minutes) and Vukovic (58 minutes) scored the goals that gave the Croats the spoils but the Nerazzurri's 3-0 victory from the first leg ensured they won their third qualifying round tie and sees them into the draw for the 2012/13 Europa League play-offs.

FIRST HALF – Stramaccioni picked Milito as a lone frontman ahead of Guarin, Sneijder and Coutinho, as Inter wore their home kit of black and blue shirts.

In the sixth minute Milito came off worse in a clash of heads with Maloca as the pair challenged for the ball, causing the Argentine to wear a bandage around his head for the rest of the contest. Inter came to life after that, with Zanetti consistently beating his man on the right flank. On the first such occasion, the captain had the San Siro faithful on their feet as he got to the by-line before crossing, but Inter only managed to win a corner (15 minutes). The second was a low cross towards Coutinho but the away goalkeeper beat him to the ball before the young Brazilian spurned the rebound, only firing against the crossbar (16 minutes).

After 22 minutes Walter Samuel fouled Vukovic in the box and the referee awarded Hajduk a penalty. Vukusic sent Handanovic the wrong way to give the visitors the lead, 1-0. Milic very nearly doubled the lead 3 minutes later, as he toe-poked towards goal but Handanovic was out smartly to deny him. Coutinho was next to go close, as he latched onto Sneijder's first-time pass, the Brazilian exploiting a hole in the Croatian defence, but his shot went narrowly wide. Guarin earned a free-kick in a dangerous position after being fouled by Andrijasevic on the half-hour mark. Sneijder, however, hammered the resulting set-piece against the wall. The pair combined again in the 36th minute when the Dutchman put the Colombian through on goal. Guarin hit a powerful shot with his right from distance but Blazevic was equal to it. The Nerazzurri then proceeded to bombard the opposition goal as the first half drew to a close, with Coutinho trying his luck three times and Milito also going for goal. The ball just wouldn't go in though, and the score at the interval wasn't really a true reflection of the first 45 minutes.

SECOND HALF – The second half began with the sides unchanged from the first period. Vukusic went close for Hajduk after 50 minutes but Handanovic was able to keep the ball out with his body. The Slovenian keeper could do nothing on 58 minutes, however. Vukovic received the ball from the right, took it down beautifully and then hammered the ball with his laces into the top corner, and the Croats led 2-0 on the night.

Jonathan earned a corner and Ranocchia nearly profited on 69 minutes, but his powerful header was cleared off the line. Blazevic was twice called into action in as many minutes with a quarter of an hour to play, first to deny Nagatomo, then Sneijder. Vukusic very nearly levelled the tie following excellent play from Jozinovic but his shot just went wide. Longo went even closer, as he so nearly scored for the Nerazzurri after combining with Guarin 10 minutes from time. Referee Turpin blew the final whistle following 3 minutes of added time. The Nerazzurri win the tie despite losing the game. Inter will learn their fate in tomorrow's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.


Inter 0-2 Hajduk Split (HT: 0-1)
Scorers
: Vukusic 23, Vukovic 58.

Inter: 1 Handanovic; 4 Zanetti, 7 Coutinho (Longo 63), 10 Sneijder (Silvestre 84), 14 Guarin, 19 Cambiasso, 22 Milito, 23 Ranocchia, 25 Samuel, 33 Mbaye (Nagatomo 55), 42 Jonathan.
Subs not used: 27 Belec, 16 Mudingayi, 24 Benassi, 88 Livaja.
Coach: Andrea Stramaccioni.

Hajduk Split: 1 Blazevic; 4 Milic, 5 Milovic, 6 Vrsajevic, 7 Andrijasevic (Caktas 59), 11 Oremus, 13 Vukusic, 14 Radosevic, 17 Jozinovic, 22 Maloca (Jonjic 55), 24 Vukovic (Lustica 83).
Subs not used: 19 Vugdelija, 3 Stojanovic, 9 Maglica, 20 Ozobic.
Coach: Miso Krsticevic.

Referee: Clement Turpin (Fra).
Assistants: Gringore and Danos (Fra).
Fourth Official: Varela (Fra).

Bookings: Samuel 6, Radosevic 55, Vukovic 58, Vrsajevic 62.
Added time: 2+3 minutes.

starting lineups

Handanovic 1 Blazevic
Zanetti 4 Milic
Coutinho 7 Milovic
Sneijder 10 Vrsajevic
Guarin 14 Andrijasevic
Cambiasso 19 Oremus
Milito 22 Vukusic
Ranocchia 23 Radosevic
Samuel 25 Jozinovic
Mbaye 33 Maloca
Jonathan 42 Vukovic

substitutes

Belec 27 Vugdelija
Silvestre 6 Stojanovic
Mudingayi 16 Maglica
Benassi 24 Lustica
Nagatomo 55 Caktas
Longo 81 Ozobic
Livaja 88 Jonjic