Serie A champions Inter Milan Saturday were held to a 1-1
draw against gritty hosts Sampdoria in their first game of the season.
At the brimming Galileo Ferraris, Inter star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic seemed
to be over his lingering knee troubles, and on 33 minutes resumed the scoring
habit he interrupted in last season's closing game, when he scored a crucial
brace.
The Swede displayed his incredible controlling skills when he finalized a
one-two action with Brazilian Mancini and fired diagonally by the far post.
Samp's second-half equalizer brought the signature of Gennaro Delvecchio, a
midfielder turned striker for lack of first-team strikers.
Samp had several chances through their talented play maker Antonio Cassano, who
fired high drives on six and 25 minutes, while midfielder Paolo Sammarco had
his effort blocked by Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
The Genoa hosts produced good offensive schemes, mostly relying on feeds from
Cassano, but glaringly lacked the grit to finalize due to absences of his
strikers Claudio Bellucci and Emiliano Bonazzoli.
Sulley Muntari, Inter new arrival from Ghana, opened the second half with a
drive saved by Antonio Mirante, who also blocked a Dejan Stankovic shot and on
57 minutes watched an Ibra volley fly high.
The hosts' deserved equalizer on 68 minutes owed much to a precise cross from
Swiss substitute Marco Padalino, who favoured the easy tap-in from Delvecchio
after an imperfect clearance from Douglas Maicon.
Three minutes later, Cassano had a mouthwatering chance to reverse the score,
but incredibly fumbled a long pass and failed to come face to face with Julio
Cesar.
Further thrills for the Genoa fans came on 86 minutes from Angelo Palombo's
smashing free kick that Julio Cesar deflected with difficulty, while Chilean
substitute Luis Jimenez threatened for Inter heading a cross from Ibra above
the bar.
An earlier game between Udinese and guests Palermo saw the Udine hosts prevail
3-1 thanks to a brace from international Antonio Di Natale.
Two top-billing ties, Roma-Napoli and Fiorentina-Juventus, are set respectively
for Sunday afternoon and evening, dpa
reported.
...