Inter Milan, champions of the Italian League, drew again, this time with no goals. The game was against Genoa in the 26th week of the Serie A. Despite the draw, Internazionale remains four points ahead of its closest pursuer, AC Milan, with 59 and 55 points, respectively. The Neroazzurri failed to take advantage of Milan’s and AS Roma’s draw on Saturday in another scoreless duel at the Olympic Stadium.
A week after its triumph against Udinese (3-2), Inter fell back into disappointment, playing once of its worst games of the season. Despite boasting strong strikers like Balotelli, Pandev, and Milito, the Neroazzurri couldn’t create any danger against a team that had a good stand in the field.
There were almost no opportunities in the first half at the Guiseppe Meazza, where the match was played mostly at midfield. Both defenses imposed on the front, where Samuel Eto’o’s absence in the attack was highlighted. There just weren’t many chances to score.
Mourinho’s team tried to attack with passes from the sidelines, especially with Balotelli, who assisted Milito several times. But Milito was unable to finish off the attempts.
The rhythm of the game changed in the second half, with both teams more aggressive in their attempts to score. Milito had several opportunities to open the score for his team, but both of his shots went wide.
Mourinho, dissatisfied with the match, tried to add a different dynamic to the game by inputting Samuel, Cordoba, and Maicon. However, neither of the three was able to add the first goal in the game. Even Wesley Sneijder tried a shot outside the area at minute 82.
Meanwhile Alberto Zapater’s players decided to close themselves in the back of the area and let the minutes pass, content to end with a draw. They got what they wanted; the game ended at a scoreless tie.
Inter technical director Marco Branca stated that many of the team’s players traveled with their national teams during the week – a possible reason why some were tired and unfocused during the match.
“We had a lot of players who travelled and played 90 minutes with their national teams this week. You cannot always be at the top in terms of concentration and desire,” said Branca.
Coach Jose Mourinho, on the other hand, simply acknowledged a bad day.
“It’s a point and it’s one game less to the end of the season. Today’s match wasn’t brilliant. That can happen during the course of the championship,” said Jose Mourinho.
With this draw, Inter remains in first place of the Serie A with 59 points, follow by AC Milan with 55 points and AS Roma with 52 points.
Inter’s next match will be against Catania on March 12th, while Genoa will face Cagliari at home on March 14th.
About the Author
Ally White has been a prominent writer on daily Italian Serie A Soccer; sports news and the sports betting industry for many exceptional sport web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.
Related posts: