Inter Milan‘s barren draw at the San Siro last night against Genoa only ensured that the title race remained open at least for another week. After watching their 2 nearest challengers Milan and Roma play out for a draw on Saturday night, the stage was set for Jose Mourinho and his boys to extend their lead over city rivals Milan to 6 points. However, the Nerazzurri seemed to have left their scoring boots in the locker.
I have to admit Balotelli was in superb form for Inter. Its only a shame his efforts never paid off. It was one of those nights that the ball could not get into the back of the net. This was an entertaining fixture and the visitors were the first to make a real threat at scoring when Domenico Criscito’s goal bound shot forced Ceaser into a save.
Genoa threatened again in the 16th minute when their forward Mesto shot from the edge of the area but it went wide. Inter almost responded immediately when Stankovic’s low angled shot from 20 yards was saved by Genoa Keeper Marco Amelia.
Mourinho opted to start Pandev and Milito in attack with Samuel Eto’o benched for the second time in as many starts. In fact the Cameroonian International seems to have lost his starting position to Mario Balotelli. The once feared striker has struggled to make an impact in Italy ever since he moved from European champions Barcelona in the summer in a swap deal that saw Ibrahimovic go the opposite direction.
The second half was all about Inter as Argentine striker Diego Milito had the chance to open the scoring in the 51st minute when he collected a Dejan Stankovic pass but totaly misqueued his shot. As the game progressed, Milito, Sneidjer and Eto’o had a host of chances to score but they were not lucky.
Genoa survived a flurry of attacks from Inter in the dying minutes to earn a treasured point. Coming off a 4-3 defeat to Bologna in their last league outing, this draw kept them in the hunt for a spot in the Europa league. Inter’s draw restores their 4 point lead over city rivals Milan and with 11 games left to play, the race is firmly on.
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The once formidable lead had been reduced to just 3pts. This is worrying.
I know. That cushion is gone, which means that Inter have to play their best players in every game and that could come back to haunt them come April and May especially if they pick up some injuries
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