Author: Crazy

Inter have booked a date against Udinese in the fifth round of the Coppa Italia after a nervy 3-2 win against Trapani at San Siro on Wednesday.

The Nerrazzurri were 3-0 up by the break, but nearly threw away that advantage against the Sicilians, who scored twice in the second half but ultimately ran out of time to complete the comeback.

Richard Marcone’s own goal sent the hosts into the lead after four minutes, with the defender turning into his own net from Fredy Guarin’s free kick that ricocheted off the post.

Ishak Belfodil added a second for Inter with a neat volley, before Saphir Taider made it three with a penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Trapani were a different side after the restart though, and gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Andrea Ranocchia’s mistake allowed Cristian Caccetta to slide home shortly before the hour mark.

And after a second half of concerted pressure, Giuseppe Madonia set up a grandstand finish by beating Juan Pablo Carrizo in the final minute of normal time.

The fightback was nearly completed at the death, but Maurizio Ciaramitaro was unable to profit from a Carrizo error, allowing Inter to hold on to face Udinese on January 14.

Walter Mazzarri was clearly unhappy with the home side’s lack of focus in the second half that nearly allowed the visitors back into the game.

“Such carelessness should not happen. At half-time, I told the team to handle the situation, but when you lose attention, that’s what happens,” he lamented to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I wanted to make the boys begin to grow as a group, and this seemed like the right time, but you can’t underestimate anything. In the first half, we were focused and did well, then we dropped. These are the points on which to work.”

Belfodil’s goal appeared to do little to convince Mazzarri of giving him a more regular place in the first team, as the 52-year-old appeared willing to let the summer signing from Parma leave San Siro on a temporary basis.

Mazzarri added: “He [Belfodil] will decide what he wants to do in January, but he will listen to the feedback of the club.”

Inter sit in fourth place in Serie A, 10 points behind leaders Juventus, but only three behind Napoli in the third and final Champions League place.

The Argentine has been linked with a return to Serie A in January but the San Siro coach believes any move would be complicated

Inter boss Walter Mazzarri has talked up a possible pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ezequiel Lavezzi after admitting he could be a “useful” acquisition.

The 28-year-old – whose current deal runs until June 2016 – has been unable to cement a permanent starting spot in Laurent Blanc’s PSG side this season and there have been suggestions he could return to Serie A in the winter.

Mazzarri did not deny interest in signing the Argentine, whom he coached for three years at Napoli, but said that a move for the Parisiens forward would be a complicated.

“If Lavezzi did what he did at Napoli and then joined PSG it’s because he’s a player who would be useful at any club,” he told Rai Sport.

“But going from that to saying that Inter should buy him, well, there are lots of factors to consider.”

With Diego Milito and Mauro Icardi sidelined through injury, the Nerazzurri are running low on strikers, and Mazzarri is hopeful of resolving the situation swiftly and retaining the club’s status as the leading scorers in Serie A this term.

“Back in the summer I think we had Milito and Icardi… but now they’re injured,” he continued. “We’re missing two players in the same position – and not because the club didn’t sign them but because they got put on the sidelines.

“Until January we have to work with what we’ve got. Besides, with the players that we have been able to field we have the best attack in Serie A.”

Inter host Trapani in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday as they bid to reach the Round of 16.

Goal picks out the star performers from the latest round of Serie A action, with Napoli’s Argentine striker adding another two goals to his tally

A magnificent Monday capped off a sensational Serie A weekend, with 13 goals being scored in the two games which ended this weekend’s round. Andrea Consigli was one of a handful of goalkeepers to have a big weekend, and came within seconds of a deserved clean sheet as Atalanta came closer than anyone to ending Roma’s unbeaten run.

Not too many defenders covered themselves in glory in Fiorentina’s 4-3 thriller against Verona, but Nenad Tomovic certainly did, winning a penalty to boot, though Andrea Barzagli‘s performance for Juventus against Udinese was a much more orthodox defensive masterclass. Parma picked up a point from their derby clash with Bologna thanks in part to Gabriel Paletta, while Boukary Drame‘s performance was key to Chievo picking up a rare three points against Livorno.

Panagiotis Kone helped Bologna earn a share of the spoils at Parma, and Riccardo Montolivo scored one and led the fight as Milan overturned an early deficit to win in Catania. Borja Valero was the star midfielder of the round though, netting twice in the opening 15 minutes in Fiorentina’s topsy-turvy win on Monday.

The forward line of our latest Team of the Week boasts four of the weekend’s 33 goals, with Simone Zaza‘s strike for Sassuolo against Cagliari and Juan Iturbe‘s belter for Verona in Florence adding to Gonzalo Higuain‘s magnificent double at Lazio for Napoli on Monday night.

The striker has started nine of his 14 appearances in all competitions this season and is being tracked by a host of European clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Roma

Manuel Pellegrini insists he has no plans to allow Edin Dzeko to leave Manchester City in January.

Goal exclusively revealed in November that the club will not offer the Bosnian a new deal and are willing to listen to offers for the 27-year-old.

Dzeko, a €33 million signing from Wolfsburg in January 2011, has started just nine games under Pellegrini this season and has scored seven goals in all competitions.

With Arsenal targeting a striker in January, Dzeko is also being monitored by a host of European clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Roma.

“No, that is not the case [that Dzeko will be sold],” Pellegrini told the Daily Telegraph.

“I put my trust in him before the season and I have just as much trust in him now. It is very important for this club to have a good squad because we have a lot of games to play from now until April and, if we want to win trophies, we need important players.

“Maybe at the moment he is not playing as much as he would like, but he remains an important part of the squad.”

The wing-back has voiced his frustration with this weekend’s draw and has insisted that the Nerazzurri must do better

Jonathan has stressed that Inter cannot afford to drop points against the so-called smaller teams if they are to challenge for the Serie A title.

The Nerazzurri were held to a 1-1 draw by Sampdoria on Sunday as Renan’s late equaliser cancelled out Fredy Guarin’s opener for Inter and Jonathan has admitted that they must do better in order to win silverware.

“We respect sides like Sampdoria but Inter are a big club and if you want to fight for the Scudetto or finish near the top you can’t drop points,” the Brazilian told Inter Channel.

“Now we need to make the most of the matches we have coming up. These home games are essential. Unfortunately on Sunday, it didn’t go well.

“Every match is important for Inter. Everyone watches us, every match is essential and we can’t ever think they aren’t, because if you don’t win, the pressure builds.”

Inter sit fourth in the Serie A table at the moment, trailing leaders Juventus by 10 points.