Inter(2)-Reggina(0)
Inter got back on the winning side of things today, with a confident 2-0 over Reggina. I know, I know, it's Reggina. But the way that things have been going lately, we needed this. We really did. Our form seemed circa a few months ago, and I loved it. This was the first game in a while, where I could just sit back and enjoy my rasian toast and coffe while watching my Nerazzurri cruise to victory. In the past four games, my coffe was all over the floor, and my regurgitated toast joined it, creating quite a nice pick me up shake for your midday sugar drops. I get a little nervous. What can I say?
I came to close to regurgitating my toast yet again in the opening minutes, when a shot from Brienza just flashed by the post. Inter struck back, as Maicon crossed it, after a terrific run, finding Crespo. He hit it wide, and should of done better. Cambiasso then spilt 2 defenders beautifully and was taken down. In game speed, it was a penalty. Even after looking at the replays, an accurate decision can not be made to whether he was in the box or not. But, the ref should of slowed down time, and he didn't. He must be cheating. Zlatan stepped up, and calmly put it past Campagnolo. After the goal JC had a numerous amount of Moses-like saves, that would take this entire post to explain. Despite this mini-barrage from Reggina, Inter increased their lead to 2 in the 34th minute. A well taken Jimmy free kick, was nicely finished by Nico. (WHAT!?!?!?!?) The half ended after Zlatan almost broke the bar on a free kick. Inter did dominate the half, but JC saved our ass on many occasions.
Suazo came on for the battle wounded solider Crespo in the second half. (I LOVE when players play with the bandage around their head.) I think Manico then switched to a 4-4-2, but I'm not positive. Zlatan continued where he left off, leaving defenders staring at his back. So much for a hole in his tendon. Then, Jimmy was taken off for Rivas, which he seemed a bit unhappy about. (He didn't pull a Vieira though.) The rest of the game was basically a clinic from JC. To put it in perspective, he was a brick wall. Literally.
Goals:
Inter:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pen 14)
Nicolas Burdisso (34)
Cartellino:
Inter:
Luis Figo (74)(Y)
Reggina:
Simone Missiroli (22)(Y)
Bruno Cirillo (52)(Y)
Luca Tognozzi (63)(Y)
Salvatore Aronica (78)(Y)
Looks like us, expect those would be all reds.
Substitutions:
Inter:
David Suazo for Hernán Crespo (45)
Nelson Rivas for Luis Jimenez (65)
Luis Figo for Patrick Vieira (72)
Reggina:
Emil Hallfredsson for Francesco Modesto (58)
Francesco Cozza for Simone Missiroli (58)
Stephen Makinwa for Franco Brienza (74)
La Formazione:
Inter:(4-3-1-2)
JC;
Maicon, Burdisso, Matrix, Il Capitano;
Vieira(Figo), Cambiasso, Stankovic;
Jimenez(Rivas);
Ibrahimovic, Crespo(Suazo)
Reggina:(4-4-1-1)
Campagnolo;
Lanzaro, Cirillo, Valdez, Aronica;
Missiroli(Cozza), Barreto, Tognozzi, Modesto(Halfredsson);
Brienza(Makinwa);
Amoruso
Player Ratings:
JC: 10- There's no arguing this rating. Time and time again this guy comes out, and saves our ass. Everything that Reggina threw at him, he stopped. He's starting to creep up on the, "Best Keeper In The World" trophy. Yup, I said it.
Maicon: 6.5- He did a terrific job getting up. ALL of his crosses today were dangerous, and that's just what he has to do. However, as with the rest of the defenders, the defensive side of his play was shaky.
Burdisso: 7.2ish- Our BEST defender on the on the pitch today. Whatever cross JC didn't come out and grab, he was right there. I felt very confidant and relaxed with him back there. He also cut-off a through ball that would of sent Amoruso on a break away. Oh, and he scored.
Matrix: 6- He was much better than he has been of late, but you can't get much worse than that. Sure, he didn't have as much of a challenge as he has had in the past 2 games, but I don't care. I think he's slowly regaining form, but we don't have that much time until Tuesday.
Il Capitano: 100- With Inter's 100th anni to be officially celebrated tomorrow, I thought I'd do something that I would never do again. This man is one of the greatest Nerazzurri EVER. Personally, I put him in the top 3, easy. He's classy, professional, and very skillful. Both on and off the pitch, he is a model for what a player should be. He played great again today, but it's just another game for this great Inter man. Grazie. Now I'm all misty eyed.
Vieira: 7.5- I'm not sure what hit this guy in the head, or what drugs he took, but its worked. Not only did he hold the middle yet again, he showed some playmaker ability. I'm not sure if I should say this, but he has definitely made himself an option for Tuesday. Wow, I did say it. Amazing.
Cambiasso: 7.5- I told you all he needed was a rest. This may be the best news that we have as we head into the CL game, Cambiasso is Cambiasso again. He controlled the ball well, and played terrific off Vieira. Plus, with Mascherano questionable for the game, a solid duo in the middle is hugeeeee.
Stankovic: 7- Very, very good. So why wasn't his ratng higher? Because he fell in and out of the game in the second half. This guy has great skills, and is a terrific crosser. He must find ways to stay involved. Besides that, I loved every minute of his play.
Jimmy: 7.5- JIMMMMYYYYYYY'S BACKKKKKK!!!!!! I really missed him, and so did Inter. He played his trequista role to perfection. He was all over the field, and his set piece was taken great. It's about time Jimmy returned.
Crespo: 6.5- He continues to give me flashes of his younger years. He seems so lively and rejuvenated. The only problem he had today, was finishing, mainly that header in the opening minutes. But, he was active in the box, just how I like it. Plus I'm a sucker for a player with bandage around their head.
Ibrahimovic: 8- I take it back, THIS is the best news going into Tuesday. Not only did he score, he was dazzling all day. Whatever happened against 'Pool in the first leg is over. After this game, he's heading into the second leg with a huge amount of confidence. Also, his knee didn't seem to bother him. It's all systems go baby.
Figo(6.5), Suazo(6), Rivas(6.5)
Analysis:
It's nice that we got back on the winning track (I'm amazing) before the CL game, but we can't focus on it too much. Enjoy it for the rest of the day, and move on.
Our attack was significantly better, and I'm giving most of the credit to Jimmy. When playing a 4-3-1-2, that trequista is sooooo important. When he was out, no one played it that great. He ran at defenders with speed, drawing them in, then played it out to the wings. He was trouble all day for the Reggina defense, but it is Reggina. I was surprised that Manico let Zlatan go the full 90, but he was great. I'm a little concerned that we didn't get to see TSB. If he's going to play against Liverpool, he needed this game for a "warm up". But he didn't play, so I don't know what to think.
We were okay defensively, but not good enough. I asked for a DOMINANT defensive performance, and I didn't get that. They gave me a decent performance, not dominant. It still looks disorganized at times back there, and if it wasn't for JC, the score might of been a lot closer. They better shape shit up back there before Tuesday.
All in all, it was a nice win. We got 3 points, and just have to wait and see what Roma does against Napoli tomorrow. But the real concern is Tuesday. It's not as much of a concern as it is terrible anticipation. Even as I was watching this game, I was thinking about Tuesday. I'm sooooo ready for it, and I know all of you are as well.
MOTM: JC baby.
Spettatori: 60,000
Arbritro: Christian Brighi
WE CAN DO IT. FORZA INTER!!!!!!