TANT’ANTONIO
There is also Inter. The Nerazzurri beat Catania 2-0 and now are third together with Lazio.
Cassano’s goal, it’s his fifth goal in eight games.
Four straight wins for Stramaccioni and also Palacio scores.
THERE’S ALSO INTER.
Cassano and Palacio are implacable. Strama’s Inter are now third.
Catania wasted several chances and should have had a penalty.
Milan – Four straight wins: Inter have arrived. Napoli are closer and Juventus have to identify with certainty the Nerazzurri as one of their main rivals. Against a very good Catania, Inter won with two wonderful goals. Cambiasso sent Cassano in goal with a spot-on assist but much credit must also be given to FantAntonio who was the absolute protagonist for over an hour. The Italian forward was able to dictate the assist and launched himself just at the right time to head that ball in the back of the net. The second was scored by Palacio. Controlled with his chest and with a left-footed volley, another masterpiece was made. The Curva Nord was rightfully in standing ovation.
Quality and mistakes More goals could have come at that side of the stadium (Curva Nord) in the first half for Catania who were able to make it tough for Inter on the basis of excellent tactics and intelligent movement. The San Siro was almost stunned twice as two Catania players in Almiron and Izco were just a few meters away from Handanovic. Another episode was Guarin’s foul on Gomez (30th minute in the second half when the scoreline was 1-0). No one was able to see the foul, not Massa, Russo or De Pinto.
Cassano superstar Before and after this episode, however, Stramaccioni’s team imposed his its best quality and this victory was deserved. In the first half, Inter were cumbersome and without many chances. The Nerazzurri were driven only by the flashes of Antonio Cassano who is becoming more and more important for the club and more loved by his fans. FantAntonio was dangerous, lively and always in search of the second goal. As the game went on, Inter continued to develop fast and well-designed action and suffered little attempts of a comeback from the Sicilian side. Palacio (twice), Alvarez (two more times) and Ranocchia (the post), were all so close to provide their club a little cushion at the end of the game. All missed the mark at the end of spectacular actions.
Trident OK Tactically, Stramaccioni ordered Obi (and then Zanetti) to play exclusively on the defensive end in order to contain Gomez. In the second half, with the substitution of Cassano, the team turned to a 4-4-2 but the story here is that the trident of Cassano, Milito and Palacio did well. That trident was launched at the expense of Coutinho and it has given Stramaccioni important answers in his tactical plans. Cassano and Palacio, constantly exchanging position, did not offer any references to the opponents and both gave quality to attacking movement. To continue supporting this idea, Stramaccioni will need to field a physically strong midfield and there is also the need to find a Pirlo (no, Sneijder cannot do it). The resistance of Catania was softened by the Inter players coming off the bench. Gargano provided balance. Running by Guarin. While Alvarez injected technique in place of a Cassano that cannot do any better than he did. The next challenge for him is playing all 90 minutes. But Stramaccioni knows that for the Scudetto, there is so much work to be done.
Source: Gazzetta dello Sport
