MILAN – Mission accomplished. The Nerazzurri defeated Varese 1-0 at the Facchetti to stay hot on the heels of Chievo Verona. Today’s match was a complicated one against a solid, organised and combative opponent. After a 1st half that was short on action, the 2nd half witnessed a completely different Inter. Their movement was fast and fluid and produced a win for three important points. A strike from Belloni on 58 minutes gave Daniele Bernazzani’s team their second win in a row (after the previous one against Sassuolo), which will spur them on as they continue in their quest to reach direct qualification for the Final Eight.
However, there were several injuries today that took some of the shine off the victory. Forte (suffered a recurrence of muscle pain during the warm-up), Acampora (subbed out after only 2 minutes), Mbaye and Bandini all failed to go the full 90 minutes. Their situations are still to be investigated further but the outlook is not the most encouraging ahead of the Viareggio Tournament (beginning Monday 11 February at 15:00 against Nogoom).
Inter 1-0 Varese (HT: 0-0)
Scorer: Belloni 58.
Inter (4-2-3-1): 1 Di Gennaro; 2 Mbaye (Donkor 67), 4 Zaro, 5 Pasa, 3 Bandini (Paramatti 79); 8 Acampora (Olsen 3), 6 Tassi; 7 Belloni, 11 Terrani, 10 Garritano; 9 Colombi.
Unused subs: 12 Dalle Vedove, 15 Ferrara, 17 Gabbianelli, 18 Pedrabissi, 21 Smug.
Coach: Daniele Bernazzani.
Varese (4-4-2): 1 Di Graci; 2 Serrano, 5 Kiakis (Dondoni), 6 Bruzzone, 3 Azzolin; 7 Romano, 8 Parini, 4 Bassi, 11 Roncari (Piccinotti 81); 9 Zamparo, 10 Scapinello (Molino 70).
Unused subs: 12 Bordin, 13 Acquaviva, 15 Caverzasi, 16 Legnani, 19 Gualtieri, 20 Lorenzi.
Coach: Paolo Tomasoni.
Referee: Capilungo (Lecce).
Booked: Parini 25, Mbaye 46.
Added time: 1 + 5 minutes.