Football United

Mancini: "good reaction"


Internazionale's comeback from a goal down to beat Fiorentina 3-1 on Sunday left boss Roberto Mancini with a smile on his face.

Inter fell behind to an early Luca Toni strike at the Giuseppe Meazza, but goals from Dejan Stankovic, Adriano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw the Nerazzurri notch their 13th straight win in Serie A.

"We played a really good match," Mancini said. "I'm satisfied by the way my side reacted after going behind."

The win sent Inter 11 points clear at the top of Serie A, but it was Adriano's goal which pleased his coach the most, as the Brazilian edges closer to top form.

"Adriano had to rediscover his fitness, and now he's still improving," he said.

When questioned about his ongoing contract negotiations, Mancini added: "Myself and [Inter president Massimo] Moratti are absolutely fine. Things are going well. There are no problems."

source: eurosport.com

Other results:
Livorno 1-1 Roma
Reggina 0-0 Palermo
Empoli 2-0 Sampdoria
Lazio 0-0 Milan
Ascoli 1-3 Atalanta

Serie A standings:
1. Inter 54/20
2. Roma 43/20
3. Palermo 39/20
4. Empoli 28/19
5. Lazio 27/20
6. Atalanta 27/20

Liverpool heap pressure on Mourinho


Liverpool heaped further pressure on Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho with a 2-0 victory over the champions at Anfield on Saturday.

Two excellent first half strikes from Dirk Kuyt and Jermaine Pennant did the damage as Chelsea were outplayed and outfought in the first half, and though they improved after the break, Liverpool passed up a number of chances to increase their lead.

With Ricardo Carvalho having fallen ill during the night, Paulo Ferreira was deployed as a makeshift centre back by Jose Mourinho, and Liverpool wasted no time in attacking the champions at their weak point.

While Michael Essien, Ferreira's fellow emergency defender was unable to deal with the aerial threat of Peter Crouch, it was Ferreira's failure to deal with the big striker's knock down in the fourth minute from Jamie Carragher long ball that led to the opening goal.

The Portuguese appeared at first hesitant, and then off-balance as Kuyt stole in to sidefoot the ball calmly beyond returning goalkeeper Petr Cech from close range.

A defensive lapse from Geremi then allowed Jon Arne Riise to steal in from the left, leaving Cech exposed again, but the tireless full back fired his shot straight at Cech as the Chelsea defence exchanged nervous glances.

Liverpool kept up their pressure on the visitors, and they were two goals to the good on 18 minutes thanks to a stunning volley from Pennant.

A long ball from Steven Gerrard was glanced square by Peter Crouch to the winger, who took one touch before unleashing a fierce volley that crashed in past Cech off the underside of the bar at the far post.

Chelsea tried in vain to force their way back into the game before half-time, though Didier Drogba appeared isolated in attack, and the loss of Arjen Robben to an injury on 21 minutes deprived them of their most creative player.

Though Mourinho's men showed genuine desire to haul themselves back into the game in the second half, Liverpool remained the better side.

They would have been two on two against the Chelsea defence had Kuyt not failed to control Riise's neat through ball on the hour mark, and the Norwegian rattled the crossbar with a superb drive from all of 45 yards just two munutes later.

Michael Ballack fed the impressive Shaun Wright Phillips on 64 minutes, though once again the Blues failed to genuinely test Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal.

Andriy Shevchenko was finally brought on in the 73rd minute in place of Jon Obi Mikel, though once again his impact was negligible, and it was Liverpool who finished the match passing the ball confidently around the pitch to the cries of "Olé" from the jubilant Anfield faithful.

source: eurosport.com

Other results:
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United
Middlesbrough 5-1 Bolton Wanderers

Premiership standings:
1. Manchester United 57/24
2. Chelsea 51/24
3. Liverpool 46/24
4. Arsenal 45/24
5. Bolton Wanderers 40/24

Inter set new record with victory over Torino


Internazionale set a new record of 12 consecutive wins in Serie A with a 3-1 victory over Torino at the Stadio delle Alpi on Saturday.

Adriano put the Nerazzurri into the lead with a textbook header midway through the first half from a pinpoint cross from Maicon on the right. The Brazilian defender rose above Marco di Loreto, and powered his header low into the bottom left hand corner past Christian Abbiati.

Torino levelled the scores against the run of play in the 58th minute after Stefano Fiore's shot took a wicked deflection off Marco Materazzi, though Zlatan Ibrahimovic restored Inter's lead with a superb volley less than a minute later.

Marco Materazzi sealed the points late on with a well-taken penalty after Abbiati brought down Adriano, a challenge which also saw him head for an early bath.

While the hosts dominated possession in the first half, they were too often let down by overconfidence and at times complacency on the part of their strikers, and it was not until Adriano drove in a fizzing free-kick from the edge of the area in the 22nd minute that Abbiati was called into action.

Two minutes later, the Brazilian went one better, giving further evidence of a return to the form that saw him finish top scorer in Serie A two years ago.

He could have doubled the lead on the strike of half-time, though was unable to connect properly after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had stormed past Gabriele Cioffi down the right and laid the ball into his path.

Torino's Alessandro Rosina caused a few nervous moments in the Inter defence early in the second half with two dangerous crosses, before the match sprang into life in the 58th minute.

Substitute Stefano Fiore collected the ball on the edge of the area, and fired in a shot that deflected off Marco Matterazzi and in past the helpless Julio Cesar in the Inter goal.

But no sooner had the home fans finished celebrating their team's equaliser, than Inter were ahead.

The hitherto erratic Ibrahimovic latched onto a long ball played in behind the defence, and held off the challenge of Cioffi, before drilling a volley across Abbiati and into the top left hand corner.

Torino again looked to hit back, with Stellone forcing Cesar into another smart stop, though Inter remained in control of proceedings.

Adriano should have extended the lead after finding himself one on one with only Abbiati to beat, though the former Milan stopper saved well down low with his right foot.

The Brazilian's final contribution sealed the win though, as he latched onto Vieira's delicious ball over the top of the defence, before knocking the ball past the onrushing Abbiati, who sent him crashing to the ground.

The goalkeeper was duly given his marching orders, and Materazzi stroked home the penalty with aplomb.

source: eurosport.com

Wigan errors gift Chelsea four-goal win

Chelsea ran out 4-0 winners at home to Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon. A Frank Lampard free-kick opened the scoring for the Blues, before Arjen Robben made it two and then scored a third, credited to a Chris Kirkland error. Didier Drogba scored a fourth in injury time.

The set-piece was curled in on 13 minutes by Lampard, and with Wigan goalkeeper Kirkland indecisive, it went straight into the far corner without ayone taking a touch.

The second, in the 63rd minute, was also the fault of Wigan. Kristofer Haestad played a poor back-pass toward Kirkland, picked up by Robben. The Holland international rounded the shot-stopper and finished.

On 70 minutes the third goal came as Robben attacked from the left and reached the goal-line before attempting a low ball across. The ball struck Kirkland on the underside of the body and into the goal.

The rout was completed when Drogba headed home deep in injury time.

A dour first half at Stamford Bridge began under great tension, given Chelsea's recent relatively poor run. As the news filtered through from Old Trafford of a lead for Manchester United, the crowd grew even more restless.

Just before the second goal went in, however, Wayne Bridge gave them something to shout about. He made his way to the left corner of the area and played a low cross to Didier Drogba at the near post, whose first-time shot was just over the bar.

Two minutes after nerves were settled as Lampard's kick crept into the far post, only moments after news of a second United goal.

Salomon Kalou and Arjen Robben, playing off Drogba at the head of the attack, sought to find ways in behind a tough Wigan defence from out wide, but were often frustrated.

There was little more coming from either team in the opening half, only a clever free-kick orchestrated between Lampard and Drogba. Standing near the corner flag on the left side, the Ivorian disguised a ball inside for the England man to shoot hard and low, saved by Kirkland at the near post.

Lee McCulloch and David Cotterill were both booked for the visitors as they cynically brought Ricardo Carvalho and Bridge to the ground respectively.

The second half did not bring much more excitement, apart from the goals. Kalou and Robben both had shots saved low down by Kirkland as Wigan kept things tight.

Haestad was also booked after a full body challenge felled Robben, who hurt his throat on the ball while falling.

That did not stop him from finishing Wigan off with aplomb, during perhaps the best performance of anyone on the pitch.

Drogba also was not to be denied, sending a diving header into the far corner after some great play and cross by subsitute John Obi Mikel to give the supporters a final souvenir for their money.

Source: eurosport.com