Final score

29 January 2012 15:00

Lecce
40' Giacomazzi
1 - 0
Inter
Referee: Luca Banti / Linesmen: Petrella, De Luca / Fourth official: Damato
Watch highlights
Minute Text commentary
47' After two minutes of added time the first half comes to a close with Lecce leading by a goal
45' Referee Banti awards two minutes of added time
43' Cuadrado is booked for a foul on Obi
42' Julio Cesar saves from Muriel
40' GOAL LECCE: Giacomazzi manages to net Oddo's cross with his right foot
35' The whistle blows for offside against Milito who was in a regular position
34' Sneijder takes a free-kick from 20 yards, Oddo beats Samuel to the ball and clears
34' Tomovic does well to block Maicon's shot with his leg
33' Sneijder crosses for Cambiasso whose header goes just wide of Benassi's left post
32' Benassi denies Inter once again as Pazzini shoots hard and low
30' Sneijder takes a corner, Samuel gets to the ball and heads at goal but Benassi pulls off a fantastic save, turning the ball away for a corner
29' Di Michele crosses from the left but Muriel just can't reach it
28' Samuel turns away a low cross from Muriel for a corner in the goalmouth
26' Milito and Pazzini work a one-two but Tomovic is there to tackle
25' Sneijder's right-footed effort towards the far post is just too high over the bar
23' Cuadrado tries a powerful blast from outside the box but it flies wide
19' Julio Cesar advances to save from Muriel who had slipped past Samuel and sends the ball over for a corner with his knee
13' Cuadrado looks dangerous in the area but Samuel keeps him in check and clears
11' Benassi caught out, but Milito's shot just misses an open goal
8' Di Michele is caught offside
7' Miglionico intervenes to block Cambiasso's cross to Milito
4' Maicon receives a pass from Milito and crosses from the right. Benassi comes out and rises to catch
1' WELCOME TO THE STADIO VIA DEL MARE: we are all ready here for Lecce v Inter, the first match of the second half of the season
1' Inter win the toss and kick off
1' In midfield we have Zanetti, Cambiasso and Obi; with Sneijder playing behind Pazzini and Milito in attack
1' Against Lecce Ranieri has picked Lucio and Samuel as central defenders in front of Julio Cesar, with Maicon and Nagatomo playing wide of them
Minute Text commentary
49' After four minutes of added time Lecce v Inter finishes 1-0. The Nerazzurri are still on 35 points
48' Pazzini gets another header in but Benassi rises to collect
45' Counter-attack, a left-footed shot from Di Michele is tipped over by Julio Cesar
45' Benassi pulls off another miracle from a Pazzini header
41' Maicon blasts in a right-footed shot, but Benassi saves at the second attempt
36' The flag goes up to indicate Pazzini is offside
35' Lucio closes Di Michele out
33' Substitution for Lecce: Giacomazzi comes off and Obodo replaces him
33' Olivera yellow-carded for a foul on Cambiasso
29' Alvarez weaves his way in from the right wing and shoots left-footed: the shot is weak and no problem for Benassi
27' Substitution for Lecce: Muriel is replaced by Seferovic
27' Substitution for Inter: Obi comes off for Zarate
26' Another goal disallowed for Inter: Alvarez with the corner, Pazzini heads down for Cambiasso and Milito scores but from an offside position
23' Muriel booked for simulating
22' Benassi punches to clear Alvarez's left-footed shot towards the far post
21' Miglionico covers Obi's attacking cross
16' Nagatomo is at hand to head clear as Di Michele rises to meet a cross from the left from Muriel
14' Maicon takes a free-kick on the right, but Olivera beats everyone to the ball
11' Maicon takes a free-kick looking for Lucio, but the ball is too far ahead of him
9' Cuadrado closes down Nagatomo who had broken away on the left wing
6' Alvarez lofts in a corner, Samuel hits the bar and Cambiasso follows up to score but his goal is disallowed for offside
3' Milito picks up the ball on the right, but is pulled down by Tomovic. Somehow the officials miss this nasty foul
1' The second half is underway
1' Inter make a substitution: Sneijder come off and Alvarez takes his place
Zanetti
4.86
4.86
Cambiasso
4.72
4.72
Julio Cesar
6.5
6.5
Samuel
5.38
5.38
Maicon
3.77
3.77
Milito
4.71
4.71
Obi
4.78
4.78
Lucio
4.3
4.3
Sneijder
5.21
5.21
Pazzini
4.43
4.43
Nagatomo
6.04
6.04
Alvarez
3.79
3.79
Zarate
2.88
2.88
Average rating 4.72
3 shots on target 9
2 shots off target 6
14 fouls committed 5
5 corners 7
4 offsides 6
21:55 ball possession 33:11
Cosmi v Ranieri: level on points, Cosmi had always scored

This is the fourth meeting between these two coaches, with previous results balanced: 1 win apiece and 1 draw. Cosmi's sides scored in all 3 of those matches, 5 goals in total.

Cosmi v Inter: big win for the coach but 7 defeats in a row and and goals always conceded

This will be the 14th time Cosmi has crossed paths with Inter. He has managed a single win, with 1 draw and 11 defeats (all 7 of the last 7 played). Cosmi's sides conceded at least once in all 13 games, : 30 goals in total. However, Cosmi's only victory against the Nerazzurri is the joint biggest win he has achieved in Serie A: a 4-1 home win by his Perugia team on 19 January 2003. The other result with the same scoreline managed by Cosmi was also with Perugia, at home to Bari on 16 December 2000.

Ranieri v Lecce: good record for the coach

Claudio Ranieri is facing Lecce in a competitive fixture for the10th time. He has won 5, drawn 1 and lost 3 of his previous encounters with the Salentini.

Inter: 8 consecutive Serie A wins last came in 2008

The Nerazzurri have won their last 7 Serie A fixtures, against Fiorentina (2-0 at home), Genoa and Cesena (both 0-1 away), Lecce (4-1 at home), Parma (5-0 at home), AC Milan (0-1 away) and Lazio (2-1 at home). The last time the Nerazzurri didn't win away was on 3 December when they lost to Udinese in San Siro (0-1). Should the Nerazzurri win again this afternoon, it would be their first 8-game winning since November-December 2008.

Inter's 406-minute away-day shutout in Serie A

The last goal conceded away from home by Inter in the league was on 26 October when they drew 1-1 at Atalanta, Denis scoring Atalanta's goal after 44 minutes. Since then, in the remaining 46 minutes of that match plus the games won away to Siena, Genoa, Cesena and AC Milan (all 0-1), the Nerazzurri defence has been unbreached for 406 minutes.

Pazzini's lethal streak against Lecce

Giampaolo Pazzini has scored more goals against Lecce than any other team in his club career: of his 114 strikes, 9 have come against the Salentini.

Lecce yet to win at home this year

Lecce are the only team in 2011/12 yet to have won a home game: of their 9 matches on their home patch, there have been 2 draws and 7 wins for visiting sides.

No clean sheets for Lecce in 13 home ties

Lecce have conceded at least one goal in the last 13 competitive fixtures played at the Stadio Via del Mare - 28 goals in all. The last time they kept a clean sheet was on 3 April 2011, when they beat Udinese 2-0 in Serie A.

Start of the second half could be decisive

Inter, along with Genoa, Juventus and AC Milan, hold the record in the 2011/12 Serie season for most goals scored at the start of the second half: they have hit the net 7 times between the 46th and 60th minutes of league games. In that same quarter of an hour period, Lecce have let in 7 goals (the same number as Parma); the only team with a worse record is Palermo with 8 goals conceded.

DA IMPLEMENTARE
wins(11) draws(4) defeats(3)

LECCE - Inter were in the Stadio Via del Mare in Lecce for the Week 20 Serie A 2011/12 match against the home team. Coach Claudio Ranieri selected Julio Cesar in goal; the defence was made up of Maicon, Lucio, Samuel and Nagatomo; midfield of Zanetti, Cambiasso and Obi; and finally Sneijder playing behind the striking partnership of Milito and Pazzini. Cosmi responded with Benassi in goal; Oddo, Miglionico, Tomovic in defence; Cuadrado, Giacomazzi, Blasi, Olivera and Brivio in midfield, and in attack Muriel and Di Michele. Inter played in their blue and black shirts, with white shorts and socks, while Lecce wore their usual strip with their yellow and red shirts, blue shorts and red socks with a yellow top. Before the kick off a minute of silence was observed in memory of former President of Italy, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. 

FIRST HALF - The Nerazzurri kicked off under heavy rain. The game was played at quite a fast rhythm from the very start but we had to wait until the 9th minute for a shot on goal, with Nagatomo closing down on Cuadrado as he made himself dangerous as he moved in on goal.

Two minutes later Milito stole a ball from Benassi and scratched the paintwork from an impossible angle and then Sneijder followed up with a shot which called for a save from the Lecce keeper. In the 19th minute the Nerazzurri wasted a great chance from just outside the box, followed by a flash Lecce counter-attack which saw Muriel alone, one on one with Julio Cesar who was forced to block with his body. In the 23rd minute Lecce showed how dangerous they could be. Cuadrado finished off the counter-attack with a right-footed blast which whistled past Julio Cesar's left upright. Inter replied on 25 minutes with Sneijder who was quick to slip through the lines stealing the ball from the Lecce defence and then curled a ball which was just slightly too high towards the top corner and over the far post. 
On 30 minutes came the most dangerous action of the game, from a corner taken by Sneijder on the left, Samuel timed his jump perfectly aiming the ball at Benassi's bottom left-hand corner. The keeper dived at full stretch and with superb reactions managed to push the ball away. A minute later Cambiasso missed with a header that was just wide.

On 32 minutes Cambiasso found Pazzini who was just onside and the former Sampdoria striker drove a shot across the box, calling for a diving save from Benassi who miraculously managed to parry. In the 40th minute Lecce took the lead: a cross by Oddo from forty yards out, and the ball bounced kindly for an astonished Giacomazzi who chested the ball down and slipped it past Julio Cesar. Two minutes later Julio Cesar was called upon to work overtime saving an almost certain goal from Muriel. In the 43rd minute Cuadrado was booked by referee Banti for a foul on Obi. The first half came to an end after two minutes of added time.

SECOND HALF - The second half got underway with Alvarez on for Sneijder. The Nerazzurri looked dangerous in the 51st minute. Alvarez took a corner from the left, Samuel rose to head it, but it came back into play off the post. Cambiasso headed it goalward and found the back of the net but Banti disallowed it for offside against the Argentine. On 63 minutes Alvarez blasted a shot from outside the area which was narrowly wide. Inter pressed forward but hastily and without much accuracy allowing the Lecce defence to regroup and keep control at the back without much effort. 

In the 67th minute Benassi punched away a curling shot from Alvarez. In the 68th Banti booked Muriel for simulation. On 71 minutes the Nerazzurri had another goal disallowed. A corner taken by Alvarez from the left, Pazzini rose to meet it and push it through to Cambiasso who turned it towards the far post where Milito scored but from an offside position. In the 71st minute Cosmi put Seferovic on for Muriel, while Ranieri sent Zarate on in place of Obi. In the 73rd minute he took off Giacomazzi for Obodo. Banti booked Olivera for a foul on Cambiasso too. Maicon hit a powerful drive from ouside the box in the 86th minute which caused problems for Benassi who saved at the second attempt. There were fireworks for Benassi in the closing minutes when he was called upon to save from an inch-perfect header from Pazzini which looked like it was on its way in. Down at the other end Di Michele forced Julio Cesar to turn the ball around the post for a corner. After 4 minutes of added time referee Banti whistled to send the teams into the dressing rooms. Lecce had beaten Inter by a goal to nil.

Lecce 1-0 Inter (HT: 1-0)

Scorer: Giacomazzi 40.

Lecce: 81 Benassi; 30 Oddo, 13 Miglionico, 40 Tomovic; 7 Cuadrado, 18 Giacomazzi (8 Obodo 78), 26 Blasi, 10 Olivera, 28 Brivio; 24 Muriel (11 Seferovic 73), 17 Di Michele.
Unused subs: 25 Petrachi, 16 Diamoutene, 21 Grossmuller, 22 Piatti, 91 Bertolacci.
Coach: Serse Cosmi.

Inter: 1 Julio Cesar; 13 Maicon, 6 Lucio, 25 Samuel, 55 Nagatomo; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 20 Obi (28 Zarate 72); 10 Sneijder (11 Alvarez 45); 7 Pazzini, 22 Milito.
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 2 Cordoba, 23 Ranocchia, 26 Chivu, 18 Poli.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.

Referee: Luca Banti (Livorno).
Added time: 2 + 4 minutes.
Bookings: Cuadrado 43, Muriel 68, Olivera 78.



starting lineups

Benassi 1 Julio Cesar
Oddo 13 Maicon
Miglionico 6 Lucio
Tomovic 25 Samuel
Cuadrado 55 Nagatomo
Giacomazzi 4 Zanetti
Blasi 19 Cambiasso
Olivera 20 Obi
Brivio 10 Sneijder
Muriel 7 Pazzini
Di Michele 22 Milito

substitutes

Petrachi 12 Castellazzi
Diamoutene 2 Cordoba
Obodo 11 Alvarez
Grossmuller 23 Ranocchia
Piatti 26 Chivu
Seferovic 18 Poli
Bertolacci 28 Zarate