Football United

EMPOLI - It was a fitting finale to a turbulent black and blue season at the Stadio Castellani on Sunday afternoon as Inter beat Empoli 3-2 to finish the Serie A championship in that fourth spot which secures the club a place in the 2004/05 Champions League qualifying round.

Adriano Leite Ribeiro hit a brace, with second-half sub Recoba also on target as the Nerazzurri showed all their character to come back from behind.

Zaccheroni's men had their work cut out in the first half as the Tuscans proved lethal on the counter-attack. Lucchini gave Empoli an 18th-minute lead with a follow-up shot after Toldo parried Vannucchi's fiercely-struck free kick. Inter had the woodwork to thank on the half-hour when Vannucchi's shot came off the inside of Toldo's left-hand post.

Adriano brought the teams level on the stroke of half time with a looping header in at the far post after outjumping the Empoli defence to meet Kily's left-wing free kick, then four minutes after Alvaro Recoba's magnificent 65th-minute free kick the Brazilian scored a goal that will be remembered for years to come, both for its spectacularity and decisiveness. The 22-year-old skipped past three defenders then sidestepped goalkeeper Balli before slotting into an open goal.

Six minutes from time Rocchi took on Gamarra and Cordoba then fired past Toldo to reduce the deficit, but two goals in the final stages was a tall order for Perotti's side, who are relegated to the Serie B.

Match facts:
Scorers: Lucchini 18', Adriano 46', 69' Recoba 65', Rocchi 84'
Booked: Materazzi 17', Cordoba 63', C.Zanetti 90'+1'
Referee: Farina

EMPOLI: 23 Balli, 3 Cribari, 7 Belleri (10 Tavano 76'), 9 Di Natale, 20 Giampieretti (17 Foggia 66'), 22 Rocchi, 25 Lucchini, 27 Ficini, 31 Vargas, 35 Busce', 77 Vannucchi
Subs: 5 Pratali, 11 Gasparetto, 12 Cassano, 13 Grella, 81 Cappellini
Coach: Attilio Perotti

INTER: 1 Toldo, 2 Cordoba, 4 J. Zanetti , 5 Emre, 6 C.Zanetti, 10 Adriano, 11 Stankovic, 18 Kily Gonzalez (13 Helveg 90'+1'), 23 Materazzi (15 Adani 90'+5'), 24 Gamarra, 30 Martins (20 Recoba 62')
Subs: 12 Fontana, 3 Kallon, 14 Farinos, 19 Karagounis
Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni

source: inter.it