Struck from distance

MILAN – Magnificent strikes both inspire and amaze. This is something which can be confirmed by the 73,000 fans present at the Meazza on Saturday evening. They were all on their feet as Radja Nainggolan spectacularly found the back of the net after eight minutes against Juventus with a right-footed volley from over 25 yards out. Inter’s matches against Udinese haven’t been short of stunning goals, and we’ve decided to take a look back at some of these strikes just a few days before our upcoming match against the Friulani. These are volleyed finishes and shots from distance that have gone down in history.

One Udinese vs. Inter game which is fondly remembered for fantastic finishes came on 28 February 2010, when Inter won 3-2. After falling behind, Inter got back on level turns through a powerful, right-footed strike into the corner following Maicon’s assist. The Brazilian defender then went from provider to goalscorer to give the Nerazzurri the lead. And a fantastic goal it was too:  the Colosso won the ball back before finishing off a flowing team move involving Milito and Pandev with a wonderful volley while he was in full flight.

Then there are pieces of play which you expect and those which surprise you. Stankovic’s lovely goal from the edge of the area following a one-two with Thiago Motta perhaps didn’t come as a shock to the many Nerazzurri fans present at the Friuli on 23 January 2011. But it was perhaps surprising the way Fontolan rifled the home the first goal of the match on 24 March 1996. On 8 September in the same year, there was another stunning strike on the first day of the 1996/1997 season. Roy Hodgson’s Nerazzurri side were looking to get their league campaign off to a flying start and managed to do so through Ciriaco Sforza, whose left-footed volley secured Inter’s 1000th league win.

In 2015/2016, Inter finished off Udinese in a matter of 180 seconds thanks to two efforts from distance: Icardi’s thunderous shot and Brozovic’s right-footed curler completed a 4-0 rout. On Saturday, it’ll be time for Udinese vs. Inter once more, and the Nerazzurri will be looking for a repeat scoreline.