Inter quashed almost any hope their city rivals AC Milan had of winning the Serie A title by jumping 10 points clear at the top following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Lazio at the San Siro.
Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the inspiration behind the win, scoring one goal and creating the other for the reigning champions.
Inter came into the game without a win in their last three matches and having seen Milan halve a previous deficit of 14 points to their bitter city rivals.
PHOTO: AP
But any thoughts that Jose Mourinho’s team might be cracking under the pressure were dispelled by Ibrahimovic’s magical right boot.
Mourinho said it is only a matter of time before his team, who need two wins from their final four matches, can celebrate the title.
“I think we’ll do it. It seems like the scudetto will never arrive, but it will,” Mourinho said.
Inter made a bright start and Brazilian winger Mancini, making a rare start, shot wide of the near post from 12m inside two minutes.
Ibrahimovic almost opened the scoring on 23 minutes when veteran Portuguese winger Luis Figo picked him out in the box with a pinpoint cross, but his header went just wide of the far post with Fernando Muslera well beaten in the Lazio goal.
The Swede then turned provider on 31 minutes as he clipped a cross into the box for Sulley Muntari, whose flying header from 8m out sailed wide of the near post when the Ghana midfielder should at least have hit the target.
Chances were few and far between in a quiet first half and after the break Inter’s frustrated fans started displaying their frustration.
Surprisingly, Ibrahimovic was the target after he tried unsuccessfully to beat two players in the box when a pass to the unmarked Muntari would have been a better option.
Some fans jeered the striker, but his reaction was immediate as on 58 minutes he teased two defenders on the edge of the box, shifted the ball onto his right foot and then with minimal back-lift thrashed a rocket past Muslera’s despairing dive.
And 20 minutes from time he was again decisive, playing a clever pass around the corner as three defenders converged on him, allowing Muntari to gallop free and beat Muslera at his near post with a crisp left foot finish.
In the day’s other match, basement side Reggina boosted their survival hopes with a crucial 2-1 victory at Bologna.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
RSS