Inter Celebrate Scudetto In Style By Thrashing Siena

The champions of Italy easily brushed past Siena, in front of a packed house at the San Siro stadium.

Pre-Match And Team News


Inter won their fourth successive Scudetto 24 hours prior to this match taking place, following AC Milan’s disappointing 2-1 defeat away to Udinese on Saturday evening. This particular match was set to mark this momentous occasion, however they would have to do without the injured pair Maicon and Nelson Rivas, whilst Julio Cruz was out through suspension.

Meanwhile, Siena had little to play for in this match, as their Serie A status was already assured, following their two wins in succession, against Napoli and Palermo respectively. Thankfully for their sake, they had a near full strength squad available for this clash against the champions.



First Half


The visitors got this celebratory occasion underway at the San Siro stadium, and it didn’t take them long to press forward with real purpose, especially through Calaio, who looked lively early on. He had the first chance of the night, as his thunderous drive from outside the area forced Julio Cesar into making an explosive save to put the ball out for a corner. Inter immediately responded through Ibrahimovic though, who attempted to cut the ball back to an unmarked Stankovic, however Curci was there to deny the Serbian a simple tap in.

The Bianconeri continued to play with real promise in the fashion capital, as they looked extremely menacing in the final third, despite the fact that they hadn’t put together any clear cut opportunities to this point. To their credit though, the champions were yet to have a single shot on goal of their own, in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Nerazzurri did manage to have their first shot on goal on 22 minutes, albeit from an extremely difficult angle, as Ibrahimovic forced Curci into making his first save of the night. A decent build up play by Jose Mourinho’s men led to the ball ending up at the feet of the Swede, who easily skipped past two opponents, only to see his effort easily dealt with by the feet of the visiting keeper.

By the half hour mark the contest was turning into an extremely dull and lacklustre affair, as both sides lacked the creativity and the desire to breakthrough their opposing defence. The home fans were undoubtedly the most entertaining aspect of this encounter, as they had not stopped chanting and singing with the first half nearing an end.



The match continued to be played in a similar manner for the remainder of the period, however right on the stroke of half time, Esteban Cambiasso opened the scoring with a well struck left footed volley from inside the area. Balotelli’s ball into the penalty area from a dead ball situation was punched clear by Curci, however only as far as Stankovic, whose effort on goal forced the keeper into making yet another save. This time though the ball ended at the feet of the eventual goal scorer, who made no mistake from close range.

The referee’s whistle sounded just one minute later, as the re-crowned champions took a one goal advantage into the interval, following a fairly balanced opening period. The Bianconeri were desperately unlucky to be trailing at this point, however they still had a half of football to get themselves back into it.


Second Half

Inter resumed the proceedings in the second half, however prior to doing so, Marco Giampaolo made a double switch for the visitors by introducing Coppola and Jarolim, in place of Codrea and Kharja respectively. As a result, the Bianconeri’s formation changed, as the boss looked to test a 4-1-4-1 set-up, possibly for next season.

The change in shape seemed to confuse the Tuscan based outfit, as the Nerazzurri grabbed a second goal through Balotelli on 52 minutes. An impressive build up play saw Ibrahimovic flick the ball to Figo, who then played an outstanding ball forward to an unmarked Balotelli, and after beating the offside trap, the young Italian easily made his way around Curci to make it 2-0.




Siena had the chance to immediately respond through Calaio, as he managed to get on the end of a glorious ball into the area by Del Grosso, however his header was denied by the woodwork, and perhaps any chance that the visitors had of taking at least a point away from this match, ended with that failed attempt on goal.

Mourinho looked set to make his first change of the night, and despite 'Ibra' limping around on the pitch and asking to be replaced for a five minute period, the boss opted to leave him out there, perhaps as punishment for celebrating the Scudetto the night prior. Instead, Santon came on in place of Luis Figo, the man who announced his retirement earlier in the day, for the final 30 minutes of play.

As was the case in the opening half, the match took a severe dip in intensity at the midway point, resulting in the home side introducing the lively Mancini for the goal scorer Balotelli.
The change had an immediate effect, as the Brazilian played a glorious ball across the face of goal to Ibrahimovic, who smashed home Inter’s third goal of the night.

Inter made their third and final switch, as Orlandoni was brought on for Julio Cesar in goal. The Brazilian keeper left the field to a rousing reception, whilst Ibra continued to complain about being left out on the field to see out the final ten or so minutes of play. The substitute was immediately called into action, as he was forced to make a miraculous save to deny the Algerian international Ghezzal, who tested his luck from long range.

The final ten minutes was played out in a fairly lacklustre manner, as the Nerazzurri cruised to a 3-0 victory, confirming their title as the re-crowned champions of Italy. With two matches still to play, they have now extended their lead to ten points, proving their dominance over the competition this term.

TEAMS

Inter (4-3-2-1): Julio Cesar; Zanetti, Cordoba, Samuel, Chivu; Stankovic, Cambiasso, Muntari; Figo (Santon, 61’), Balotelli; Ibrahimovic.

Siena (4-3-1-2): Curci; Ficagna, Portanova, Brandao, Del Grosso; Vergassola, Codrea (Coppola, 46’), Galloppa; Kharja (Jarolim, 46’); Calaio, Ghezzal.

GOALS

44’ Cambiasso (Inter)

52’ Balotelli (Inter)

76’ Ibrahimovic (Inter)