The Serie A 2010/2011 week 29 was full of mixed emotions before kick off, the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification were contrasted by the black armbands worn by both sides in a gesture of solidarity towards the Japanese people caught up in the aftermath of yesterday's tragedy in Japan.
Inter started the game slightly shaky as they worked to suss out how to break down Brescia's defense (which consisted of 8 players for most of the game) but they soon got into their stride and started to lay with fantastic movement and awareness eventually breaking them down from a Sneijder corner which was knocked on by Ranocchia then slotted home by Eto'o to claim his 31st goal of the season which he dedicated to the people of Japan. For the rest of the 1st half we stayed in control but didn't manage to put the game to bed. Throughout the half Inter's backline was looking very sketchy when Brescia managed to catch us on the break. In the second half Arcari repeatedly denied Inter (Pandev in particular); then after a ridiculous backheader from Cordoba which gifted Caracciolo the equaliser then in a grand finale Julio Cesar saved a 90th minute penalty from Caracciolo, given from a bad tackle from Cordoba that saw him dismissed with a straight Red card. Then in injury time Brescia's Caracciolo was dismissed for getting a second yellow. Inter really need to do something about our defending as it may have cost us the Scudetto.
Full match Report
FIRST HALF –
Leonardo decided to reward Pandev for his recent performances with a starting berth, meaning Kharja dropped to the bench, and the Macedonian took his place on the right of an attack-minded trio that included Sneijder and Eto'o behind Pazzini, who has never scored against Brescia.
The Italian striker was no doubt hoping to impress national coach Cesare Prandelli, whom the TV cameras focused on in the crowd as the national anthem rang around the stadium before kick-off. Hatemaj's 5th-minute volley – which ended high - was Brescia's first demonstration of attacking intent. That was quickly followed by a short corner and Zebina's double effort, which forced Pazzini to put behind for another corner. The home side came forward again on 9 minutes: first Caracciolo's header was caught confidently by Julio Cesar and then Diamanti fired a shot just wide. Inter's immediate reply came in the form of a powerful, but off-target, effort from Sneijder. Three minutes later Nagatomo embarked on a determined foray forward, taking on Zambelli and Zebina before trying to beat Arcari at his near post, but the Brescia keeper pushed his shot round the post. Inter continued to grow in stature and took a deserved lead after 18 minutes: Sneijder's corner was nodded goalwards by Ranocchia and Eto'o stabbed home from close range to make it 31 goals for the season.
The Cameroonian then ran over to Japanese team-mate Nagatomo and dedicated the goal to him. Caracciolo almost pulled Brescia level on 35 minutes, after he picked up Konè's ball and tried to lob Julio Cesar, but his effort sailed over the bar. In the 42nd minute, Zebina made a crucial intervention when Pandev was through on goal. That was the last chance of the half, which drew to a close after a minute's added time with the Nerazzurri in the lead by a goal to nothing.
SECOND HALF –
Brescia started the second half on the attack and with Caracciolo seemingly determined to get his side back in the game: a minute into the half he headed over; then in the 50th minute he muscled his way towards goal, getting the better of Ranocchia, before poking a shot towards Julio Cesar's near post from close range, which fortunately the Brazilian was alert to.
Five minutes later Sneijder was unlucky when a curler from long range came back off the post. Arcari came to Brescia's rescue on 63 minutes when he denied Pandev, who had shown great class to control Pazzini's ball. Il Pazzo made way for Kharja after 70 minutes and a minute later Sneijder was again frustrated, as Arcari blocked his firm drive from a central position. In the 77th minute Brescia claimed a penalty for a handball by Nagatomo, but the Japanese full-back was holding his arm to his body and he was very close when Konè played his cross.
On 80 minutes Pandev again found himself one-on-one with the Brescia keeper, who closed the angle and managed to keep out the Macedonian's attempted chip. With six minutes remaining the home side found a leveller: from Diamanti's corner, Cordoba headed back towards his own goal and the big striker directed it into the back of Inter's net. If anyone thought Brescia might be happy with a point, they were wrong: in the 89th minute Eder was bearing down on goal when Cordoba's body got caught up with his opponent's just inside the box, and Rocchi decreed a red card and a penalty.
Julio Cesar's fantastic save from Caracciolo's spot-kick left the big striker staring in disbelief but his evening got worse in the final seconds of added time, when he was sent off after collecting a second yellow for an unnecessary tug on Sneijder.
Brescia v Inter thus ended 1-1 and the Nerazzurri now sit second in the table on 57 points.
Brescia 1-1 Inter
Scorers: 18 Eto'o, 84 Caracciolo
Line ups
Brescia:
1 Arcari; 5 Zebina, 6 Bega, 2 Zoboli; 15 Zambelli (61, 7 Eder), 33 Koné, 8 Vass (83, 36 Lanzafame), 56 Hetemaj, 28 Berardi (25, 3 Daprelà); 32 Diamanti, 9 Caracciolo.
Unused subs: 22 Sereni, 16 Mareco, 17 Baiocco, 18 Possanzini.
Coach: Giuseppe Iachini
Inter:
1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio (65, 2 Cordoba), 15 Ranocchia, 55 Nagatomo (78, 23 Materazzi); 4 Zanetti, 5 Stankovic; 27 Pandev, 10 Sneijder, 9 Eto'o; 7 Pazzini (70, 14 Kharja).
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 17 Mariga, 20 Obi, 29 Coutinho.
Coach: Leonardo
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Florence)
Booked: 27 Daprelà, 39 Zebina, 43 and 90+4 Caracciolo, 52 Maicon, 55 Konè, 83 Hetemaj
Sent off: 89 Cordoba, 90+4 Caracciolo
Added time: 1 + 4 minutes
Reactions
Leonardo
After the game Leonardo spoke about the game revealing the reason for subbing Lucio, though there was no real mention about Cordoba's terrible performance which very nearly lost us the game, don't get me wrong I know Cordoba is a good player for Inter but his two mistakes were very much out of character for him and a player of his experience shouldn't have made them
"I think we had a lot of chances and the final score could have been very different," was Leonardo's comment on the draw at the Stadio Rigamonti. "Brescia defended well and got a lot of men behind the ball and apart from that they can attack with midfielders who get into the area. We conceded a goal from a corner unfortunately and that changed the game. We did have our chances, though. The first half was good, as was the second, but we didn't manage to score. We aren't too fond of draws and this was a strange draw. Let's not panic, however. Overall we performed very well and the team was there throughout. We played well. The team is taking each match as it comes and there are still quite a few to come. Anything can happen. We have had consistency in results and anything can still happen. We'll march on with the same enthusiasm."
"Lucio had to come off with an injury problem. As for the other substitutions? They had nothing to do with getting the team to play deeper," said Leonardo.
"Pandev? He fought for every ball and was creative. He had a few chances on goal, but didn't manage to score. But he has improved so much and today he played well. His movement was good and he made chances for others," said the Nerazzurri coach."
Pandev played very well today and he should have got at least 1 goal but he was just unlucky, it's good to see him finding his form again though after what has been a disappointing season for him.
Stankovic
Dejan Stankovic commented on the match against Brescia: "We should have won but there was a total black-out at the end and we actually risked losing. I'm speechless but it isn't all over yet. We have to be up there. It's a real shame, though, because we had the game in our hands. Never mind, let's forget about this result and look to the future. We have an even more important match on the horizon now, against Bayern Munich. And all together, united, we'll try and do better."
A short statement from Deki that I think sums up the shock of how quickly it all fell apart at the end of the game.
All in all it was a strange game, we played some excellent football but it lacked a certain excitement and the last 10 minutes were just a farce, but we scraped a point thanks to Julio Cesar so the Scudetto is still just in reach, but now we must concentrate on turning around the deficit in Munich on Tuesday. Given Bayerns woeful recent form I feel we can take the win against them but we really need to pay more attention to our defending as we are still letting in goals that should never happen
Location:Brescia
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