Juventus 1-1 Inter Milan

TURIN - Saturday night's hard-fought derby d'Italia at the Stadio Olimpico produced a 1-1 draw, leaving Inter's ten-point lead at the top of the table intact.

Mario Balotelli slotted home the opener in the second half and the eighteen-year-old's goal looked to be good for victory after the dismissal of Juventus midfielder Tiago, but Zdenek Grygera popped up in added time to head home an equaliser.

Mourinho made three changes to the team that drew with Palermo last weekend, with Julio Cesar back between the posts, Samuel returning in defence and Figo starting on the right wing for his 100th match in Italy's Serie A.

Chivu switched to left-back at the expense of Maxwell, while Zanetti slotted in on the opposite flank with Santon starting on the bench.

Ranieri opted for 4-4-2 with Del Piero starting up front alongside Iaquinta after getting the nod ahead of Trezeguet.

The Bianconeri attacked Mourinho's men in the early stages but it was Inter who produced the first clear chance through Balotelli in the 10th minute.

The Italy Under-21 forward controlled a long pass and burst past two defenders before sending a low shot on target. Buffon took the sting out of it, allowing for Tiago to clear off the line.

Juventus continued to create and Julio Cesar made easy saves from Del Piero and Iaquinta before the latter had a shot deflected off Samuel. The home side went even closer when Marchionni, put through by Del Piero, tried to lift the ball over Julio Cesar but the Inter keeper had moved quickly to narrow the angle.

Inter produced more towards the end of the half with Stankovic firing wide from Balotelli's inviting pass and Figo testing Buffon after a solo run on goal.

The Nerazzurri came out for the second half as they ended the first and Stankovic's stinging shot forced a parry from Buffon who minutes later saved Ibrahimovic's header from Balotelli's cross.

The breakthrough came in the 64th minute when Ibrahimovic found Muntari in space down the left and the Ghanaian crossed to the far post where Balotelli was on hand to slide beyond Buffon.

Inter's task was made easier with less than a quarter of an hour on the clock when Tiago was shown a straight red card for shoving Balotelli right after a bad challenge on Muntari.

Mourinho made two tactical changes, introducing Vieira for Balotelli and Burdisso for Muntari as the Nerazzurri made the man advantage count, and Buffon was a busy man in the closing stages. The Juventus keeper kept out a shot from Stankovic, later making a tipped save from Cruz who replaced Figo in the final minutes.

Against the run of play, Grygera popped up in the box in added time to send a flicked header from Giovinco's inswinging corner past Julio Cesar and salvage a point for the home team.

Juventus 1-1 Inter (HT: 0-0)

Scorer: Balotelli 64, Grygera 90+1.

Juventus: 1 Buffon; 21 Grygera, 33 Legrottaglie, 3 Chiellini, 28 Molinaro (29 De Ceglie 63); 32 Marchionni (17 Trezeguet 74), 18 Poulsen, 30 Tiago, 11 Nedved; 9 Iaquinta, 10 Del Piero (20 Giovinco 80).
Subs not used: 12 Chimenti, 4 Mellberg, 5 Zebina, 15 Knezevic.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.

Inter: 12 Julio Cesar; 4 Zanetti, 2 Cordoba, 25 Samuel, 26 Chivu; 19 Cambiasso; 7 Figo (9 Cruz 87), 5 Stankovic, 20 Muntari (16 Burdisso 78), 45 Balotelli (14 Vieira 77); 8 Ibrahimovic.
Subs not used: 1 Toldo, 6 Maxwell, 23 Materazzi, 39 Santon.
Coach: José Mourinho.

Referee: Stefano Farina (Novi Ligure).

taken from: inter.it

Inter 2-2 Palermo

MILAN - Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had first-half goals cancelled out by second-half efforts from Edinson Cavani and Davide Succi as Palermo held Inter 2-2 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

It was one-way traffic in the opening period of the Serie A Week 31 clash, with Inter's 18-year-old striker nodding home the opener on 14 minutes before Ibrahimovic added the second from the penalty spot six minutes before the break.

Despite a strong start to the second half by the visitors, Inter looked to be on course for a 23rd league win but Cavani and Succi scored in the space of three minutes to force the draw.

Francesco Toldo for Julio Cesar between the sticks was Mourinho's only change to the team that beat Udinese 1-0 last Sunday. Palermo coach Ballardini also made also one switch to the team that beat Torino by the same score last weekend, bringing in Cassani for Savini at right-back.

The Easter Saturday fixture kicked off after a minute's silence to remember the Abruzzo earthquake victims. All the players wore black armbands while Mourinho donned a black tie as a mark of respect.

Inter had an early chance when the flag stayed down after Ibrahimovic controlled Cambiasso's through ball and lobbed Amelia but his effort was off-target. Balotelli did better five minutes after, rising totally unmarked in the area to head Muntari's left-wing cross beyond a hapless Amelia for his seventh goal in all competitions this season.

SuperMario went close to a quick second, lifting Muntari's floated pass over Amelia and the crossbar before Ibrahimovic tested the Palermo custodian with a fierce angled drive.

Amelia pulled off more saves from Stankovic and Maxwell but there was nothing he could do to stop Ibrahimovic topping the scorers list with his 20th of the season with a powerful penalty kick after a foul in the area by Kjaer.

Palermo came out for the second half all guns blazing but the first chance fell to Balotelli whose curling shot missed by a matter of inches. Rosanero substitute Bresciano volleyed narrowly wide and Toldo made a splendid tipped save from Cavani as the visitors continued their search for a goal.

Their first came in the 73rd minute when Cavani fired diagonal shot past Toldo. The second arrived three minutes later when Bresciano delivered a cross to the back post and Miccoli played first-time into the path of Succi who slid home from close range.

Miccoli went close to a late winner, curling inches wide after drifting past three opponents.

Inter 2-2 Palermo (HT: 2-0)

Scorers: Balotelli 15, Ibrahimovic (pen) 39, Cavani 73, Succi 76.

Source: inter.it

Udinese 0-1 Inter

UDINE - Inter took a step closer to a fourth consecutive Serie A title after Sunday's 1-0 victory over Udinese.

The home side dominated for much of the ninety but the Nerazzurri got the all-important goal with 13 minutes remaining when Isla turned into his own net.

Sunday's fifth straight away win sees Inter take full advantage of Juventus' 3-3 home draw against Chievo and open up a nine-point gap with eight games left to play.

Gökhan Inler fired an early warning when his crisp 20-yard strike forced Julio Cesar into a punched save.

Inter soaked up the early pressure and Muntari had two chances on his old stomping ground, firing just wide on both occasions.

Quagliarella had a penalty claim turned down before sending a swerveshot wide as Udinese imposed their game in the ten-minute period before the break.

Udinese brought their momentum into the second half and Floro Flores had a weak header saved before he set up Inler who sent a terrific shot just wide of the target.

Ibrahimovic forced a save from Belardi with a low 20-yard shot as Inter struggled to find openings, and the Nerazzurri had Julio Cesar to thank for a brilliant tipped save from Quagliarelli, moments before Felipe sent wide a flicked header from Pasquale's cross.

Inter produced a further chance when Stankovic slid wide from close range after Ibrahimovic's right-wing cross.

With time running out Mourinho made a double substitution. Opting for experience over youth, he introduced Figo for Balotelli and Vieira for Santon.

The Portuguese was forced into a third switch soon after, bringing on Toldo for Julio Cesar who pulled up with a thigh injury.

The breakthrough came in the 77th minute when Vieira beat the offside trap to collect Ibrahimovic's pass and Udinese defender Isla turned the ball into his own net.

Ibrahimovic went close to what would have been a magnificent second goal in added time, drifting past three players before shooting narrowly wide of the far post.

Udinese 0-1 Inter (HT: 0-0)

Scorers: Isla (o.g.) 77.

Udinese: 80 Belardi; 15 Isla, 2 Zapata, 19 Felipe, 26 Pasquale; 88 Inler (5 Obodo 83), 21 D'Agostino, 20 Asamoah; 7 Pepe, 27 Quagliarella, 83 Floro Flores (9 Ighalo 84).
Subs not used: 12 Koprivec, 18 Zimling, 65 Sissoko, 66 Bradaschia, 99 Sala.
Coach: Pasquale Marino.

Inter: 12 Julio Cesar (1 Toldo 73); 39 Santon (14 Vieira 69), 2 Cordoba, 26 Chivu, 6 Maxwell; 4 Zanetti, 19 Cambiasso, 20 Muntari; 5 Stankovic; 8 Ibrahimovic, 45 Balotelli (7 Figo 69).
Subs not used: 9 Cruz, 18 Crespo, 23 Materazzi, 25 Samuel.
Coach: José Mourinho.

Taken from : www.inter.it