Inter Milan bounce back from their misery in Serie A with a precious 1-0 victory against Lille in the Champions League, although it wasn’t actually a “pretty” performance, it’s an important result for Claudio Ranieri’s side.
The return of important players such as Julio Cesar, Thiago Motta and Wesley Sneijder, obviously helped the team’s performance but it was Giampaolo Pazzini who acted as the savior with his goal in France.
Arriving in France with a pretty low morale, Inter Milan got some boost with the ability to field their best squad for the match as Sneijder, Motta and Cesar returns to first team action. It was a pretty action pack match as both teams were trying to attack each other right from the start, after the host goes on a rampant attacking moves from the right wing, it was the visitor who managed to took the lead instead.
Mauro Zarate goes on the run to receive Sneijder’s pass and pulled back a fine cross which Pazzini finished with a lovely volley from nine yards out, beating Enyeama on Lille’s goal without any problem. The goal spurred the home team, who pushed up even more creating chances through Eden Hazard and Joe Cole, which really troubled Lucio along with Christian Chivu at the heart of the Nerazzurri’s defense.
Taking the 1-0 lead into the second half, the Nerazzurri, were forced to sit back a lot after the break as the home team piling up the pressure in search for the equalizing goal. Inter’s coach, Ranieri was eventually forced to bring in a much more defensive substitution by Zarate and Sneijder with Joel Obi along with Dejan Stankovic. The visitor’s tight defense added with a little bit of luck finally brings them through the tough period and came away with a morale boosting result which could be important in Inter’s upcoming matches.
Speaking after the game, Ranieri admitted that his team wasn’t playing that well but considering the difficult situation that Inter are having, getting away with all three point was all that matters for him. The ex-Roma coach hope that this result will indeed boosted the player’s morale ahead of the tight packed league Schedule coming up starting form this weekend.
The win is important, as the lads are working hard with the right spirit. Everyone can have a bad period, but they want to turn the page. This result helps boost morale and we must build on that,” Ranieri stated.
Match Reports:
Lille v Inter Milan 0-1
Goal: Pazzini (21)
Lille: Enyeama; Debuchy, Basa, Chedjou, Beria; Balmont (Gueye 81), Mavuba, Pedretti (Payet 62); Cole (Obraniak 74), Sow, Hazard
Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Chivu, Nagatomo; Zanetti, Thiago Motta, Cambiasso; Sneijder (Stankovic 67); Pazzini (Milito 81), Zarate (Obi 63)
