Diego Milito struck midway through the second half to give Inter Milan a 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow.
Milito strike seals 1-0 win in Italy
Diego Milito struck midway through the second half to give Inter Milan a 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
CSKA battled hard to frustrate the Italians in a tight opening 45 minutes but rarely threatened in attack apart from the occasional burst by striker Milos Krasic.
Goran Pandev smashed a long-range shot over the crossbar as Inter were initially restricted to ambitious efforts from distance, before eventually starting to carve out better chances after the interval.
CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was called into action several times before Milito drilled a fine strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Aleksei Berezutsky then cleared sensationally off the line after Pandev had rounded Akinfeev, leaving Inter with just a slender advantage to protect when they make the daunting trip to the Russian capital next week.
Spectacle
Jose Mourinho had warned on the eve of the game that it was not likely to be much of a spectacle and he was proven right for the first 45 minutes.
Inter struggled to find a way through a well organised block of CSKA Moscow players, who waited patiently for their chance to break with the lively Pavel Mamaev and Krasic looking dangerous on the ball.
A mazy run from Mamaev, who beat both Dejan Stankovic and Walter Samuel, was ended by Marco Materazzi, who had been preferred in the Inter defence over Ivan Cordoba to replace the suspended Lucio.
Inter then started to create a few chances with Wesley Sneijder's shot from a free-kick punched clear by Akinfeev to Stankovic, who shot wide from 20 yards.
Sergei Ignaschevich's direct free-kick at the other end was easy for Julio Cesar before Pandev came the closest to opening the deadlock in the first half with a 25-yard shot which missed the crossbar by a matter of inches.
Samuel Eto'o then had a few half chances for the Nerazzurri, but Akinfeev's goal was rarely under any real threat.
CSKA made a bright start to the second half with Mamaev shooting just over the crossbar from 25 yards and then Berezutski's dangerous low cross was put behind for a corner by Materazzi.
In the 55th minute, Evgeni Aldonin's 20-yard shot swirled in the air, forcing Julio Cesar to tip it over the crossbar.
Spark
That effort seemed to spark Inter back into life and they should have gone ahead on the hour mark when Esteban Cambiasso threaded the ball through to Stankovic, but he never really gained full control of it and could only strike a weak shot straight into Akinfeev's arms.
Four minutes later, Pandev exchanged passes with Sneijder before placing his left-footed shot towards the far corner where it was pushed away by Akinfeev.
Eto'o's shot in the 55th minute was saved on the line by the CSKA goalkeeper, but he was unable to get to Milito's effort in the same minute as the Argentine put the home side ahead with a low shot from just outside the penalty area.
Inter searched for a second with Pandev coming within inches of finding it in the 72nd minute.
He did all of the hard work in dribbling the ball past Akinfeev after being sent through by Milito, but Berezutski came in around the back to clear his shot off the goalline with a desperate lunge.
Sneijder chose the wrong option as he shot into the side-netting in the 84th minute before Cambiasso's shot was punched out by Akinfeev, who then somehow managed to lift Stankovic's follow-up shot over the crossbar.
Tomas Necid then scuppered the chance to score an away goal when he was played in by a neat lob from Deividas Semberas, but he never looked confident with only Julio Cesar to beat and the Inter goalkeeper dived onto the ball to preserve a clean sheet which enhances Inter's chances of reaching the semi-finals.
| Internazionale |
Team Statistics |
CSKA Moscow |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 9 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 9 |
Corners |
4 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
22 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 78.8 |
Passing Success |
74 |
| 26 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 88.5 |
Tackles Success |
95 |
| 56.4 |
Possession |
43.6 |
| 61.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
38.2 |
|
