Postmatch Recap: Inter 1-0 Sampdoria

Inter took to the San Siro pitch on Wednesday night and were looking to win back to back games for the first time this season.  Manager Walter Mazzarri was a little less under pressure after the result against Cesena, but needed the squad to pull out all three points against Sampdoria to keep the boo boys at bay.  All the players have dispelled any talk of the Nerazzurri being in a crisis, and as long as the wins keep coming, any type of crisis will be subverted.

Ex-Inter player and coach, Sinisa Mihajlovic has done a great job with shaping this Blucerchiati side, with the Genovese team coming into the match tied for third and in contention for a Champions League spot.  Making the match up more interesting is the fact that Mihajlovic could very well be on the Inter bench sometime in the future- possibly sooner than later.

Lineups:

INTER: Handanovic; Ranocchia, Vidic, Juan Jesus; Obi, Hernanes, Medel, Kovacic, Dodo; Palacio, Icardi

Substitutes: Carrizo, Berni, Andreolli, Kuzmanovic, Mbaye, Puscas, Camara, Krhin, Donkor, Bonazzoli

SAMPDORIA: Romero; De Silvestri, Gastaldello, Romagnoli, Mesbah; Duncan, Palombo, Obiang; Gabbiadini, Okaka, Eder

Substitutes: Da Costa, Fedato, Sansone, Bergessio, Regini, Soriano, Rizzo, Marchionni, Fornasier, Wszolek, Cacciatore, Massolo

Match Summary:

On a night where Italy national team coach, Antonio Conte, and team manager, Lele Oriali, decided to catch a game at the Meazza, Inter lined up in Mazzarri's favored 3-5-2. Samir Handanovic was in goal while Andrea Ranocchia, Nemanja Vidic, and Juan Jesus lined up in defense.  Joel Obi, Hernanes, Gary Medel, Mateo Kovacic, and Dodo were in the midfield while Rodrigo Palacio and Mauro Icardi were in attack.

The first half began with a blistering start, as Icardi had a good chance at Sampdoria's goal in the third minute.  The away side countered a few minutes later, as Obiang sent a ball into Eder that challenged Handanovic.

Inter's next chance came in the 12^th minute, as Dodo passed the ball to Hernanes, who then quickly directed it into the path of Palacio. Sampdoria countered just as fast as the chance happened, and the away side won a corner that was safely cleared by the Inter defense.

In the midst of the first half action, Medel was once again hit in the mouth.  He was shown spitting out blood and was reminiscent of the injury he sustained a few weeks back while on international duty with Chile.  That didn't stop "The Pitbull" from doing his job, as he was winning tackles and being a force as a defensive midfielder.

Inter and Sampdoria had ample opportunities to score, with the home side not looking sharp in front of goal.  Even though the Nerazzurri dominated possession 64% to 36%, both sides scuffed chances to give themselves a lead.  The first half ended with a flurry of action, as Kovacic sublimely passed the ball to Icardi, whose shot was was saved by Sampdoria keeper, Romero.  Inter product and current Blucerchiati loanee, Duncan, hit Handanovic's crossbar on the stroke of halftime.

The second half was similar to the first, and the 49^th minute saw Palacio marauding through five Sampdoria defenders to create a shot on goal for himself, which went wide.  The midfield looked like a cohesive unit, which unfortunately was disrupted in the 52^nd minute, as Hernanes had to be substituted off with a slight injury he sustained during the first half.  Zdravko Kuzmanovic was sent on in his place, and the Serbian would eventually have a big part to play in the evening's events.

As possession seemed to even out between the two teams, Inter created clear cut chances that they were not able to convert.  Sampdoria hit the counter effectively, and could have easily won the match in the 87^th minute.  Eder forced Handanovic to tip the ball over the bar and make a terrific save, hence the Slovenian's "San Samir" nickname.

All signs were pointing to a draw as the clock ticked down, but everything changed in the 89^th minute when Kuzmanovic was hacked on the ankle by Romagnoli.  Despite the Sampdoria players' arguments with the baseline referee who spotted the foul, Icardi stepped up to the spot and converted the penalty.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="3" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/uwJjpJJmkl/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">INTER 1-0 Sampdoria, Goal by @mauroicardi from the penalty spot.. After @kuzmanovic_17 been fouled in the penalty area. Another win for @fcinterofficial . #internazionalemilano #intermilan #inter #fcim #fcinternazionale #forzainter #nerazzurri #amala #giuseppemeazza #legacalcio #seriea #interisti #interista #internona #icardi #mauroicardi #mi9 #kuzmanovic #penalty #sampdoria</a></p><p style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#c9c8cd; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A video posted by Jacky Intan (@jackyintan)&nbsp;on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2014-10-29T21:58:12+00:00">Oct 10, 2014 at 2:58pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

It was an unexpected twist, but one that was fair and greatly appreciated by Interisti everywhere.  The Nerazzurri now look towards this weekend, as they travel to Parma for Saturday's 20.45 kickoff.

Goal scorers:

1^st half: N/A

2^nd half: Icardi (90')