PESCARA - A sold-out Stadio Adriatico witnessed the opener of the 2012/13 Serie A season between Pescara and Inter, with Andrea Stramaccioni guiding the Nerazzurri to a winning start: a 0-3 victory. It was a match of many interesting firsts, among which the Inter coach’s meeting against the side from Abruzzo - a recently promoted club that played with big-team personality.
In the first half Inter found the net twice in two minutes through Sneijder and Milito. The Nerazzurri had to deal with an opponent capable of rapid counterattacking. And among some exciting interchanges and manoeuvring that brought applause from the fans, Inter hit their third thanks to Coutinho, assisted by Milito.
FIRST HALF – We’re only at the beginning, but it’s a fantastic start. Stramaccioni handed starting places to two of the three new Nerazzurri signings, Cassano and Gargano (today the Uruguayan celebrated his 200th match in Italy). With Palacio suspended, Milito took the role of the lone striker, and on the bench – as of today with 12 players available – Coutinho waited his turn. A foul from Guarin awarded a free kick to Pescara after three minutes; Cascione fired his shot off the wall before Jonathas sent the rebound out for a goal kick. Then when Caprari surged forward Castellazzi saved for a corner. On 12 minutes the Biancazzurri countered through Weiss, who beat his man to enter the box before going down as Zanetti approached, resulting in the midfielder receiving a booking for simulation. Two minutes later Gargano saw his name go down in the referee’s book for a challenge; Castellazzi tipped the ensuing free kick, taken by Caprari, over the bar for a corner.
Wesley Sneijder then had the honour of being the first Inter player to find the net this season; a forward pass from Zanetti picked out Milito, allowing the Argentine to send a perfect cross for the Dutchman to side-foot into the Pescara goal. The celebrations had barely died down before the Nerazzurri had their second goal. It was another perfect triangulation play; from Sneijder’s through ball to Cassano, then Milito, allowing El Principe to shoot past Perin from just inside the 6-yard box. Pescara’s first real chance came on 31 minutes when Caprari beat the offside trap before firing his diagonal shot inches wide of Castellazzi’s far post. The home side conceded a free kick in the 36th minute when Zanon hauled back Nagatomo two paces outside the box. Perin then dived low to block Inter’s free kick after the foul. Whether it’s in Pietra Neamt or Pescara, Castellazzi is always capable of turning heads with his saves; after the pearl last Thursday that denied Sburlea, the Nerazzurri’s number 12 conjured up another today on 43 minutes from Cascione’s header, allowing Inter to finish the first half with a clean sheet.
SECOND HALF - The second half kicked off with no changes, and after 11 minutes of play Inter caused a scare in the Pescara box when Sneijder crossed for Cambiasso to head the ball high. There was practically a replay on 59 minutes when Guarin found Milito, who returned the ball to the Colombian before a sortie from Perin to the edge of his box thwarted Inter’s chance for a third. It was only the first match of the season, but there was an evident sense of understanding between the Nerazzurri players. This was made clear in the bewitching combination of passes between Milito and Cassano in the Pescara box on 60 minutes, even if the exchange failed to end in a goal.
Stramaccioni took Cassano off in the 68th minute and sent on Coutinho in his place, and it didn’t take long at all for the Brazilian to create a golden chance for Milito. On 76 minutes, with Perin’s goal at his mercy, El Principe shot high when trying to place the ball in the top corner. However, the Argentine striker quickly made up for it when he collected Guarin’s pass wide on the right and sent a perfect cross for Coutinho to one-time into the Biancazzurri’s net.
In the 86th minute Stramaccioni gave Duncan his Serie A debut, and after three minutes of added time Guida whistled to end the match. Inter won their season opener, breaking their streak of beginning the season with a draw. They lead the group of 7 teams with three points in the standings and soon plunge back into Europa League play: Vaslui are to visit the Meazza before next Sunday's clash with Roma.
Pescara 0-3 Inter
Scorers: Sneijder 17, Milito 19, Coutinho 81.
Unused subs: 22 Anania, 8 Bjarnason, 15 Bocchetti, 16 Brugman, 19 Chiaretti, 23 Cosic, 26 Blasi, 88 Terlizzi, 90 Ragusa.
Coach: Giovanni Stroppa.
Inter: 12 Castellazzi; 4 Zanetti, 6 Silvestre, 23 Ranocchia, 55 Nagatomo; 14 Guarin, 21 Gargano (Duncan 86), 19 Cambiasso; 10 Sneijder, 99 Cassano (Coutinho 68); 22 Milito (Livaja 84).
Unused subs: 27 Belec, 32 Cincilla, 24 Benassi, 25 Samuel, 40 Juan Jesus, 42 Jonathan 33 Mbaye, 44 Bianchetti, 81 Longo.
Coach: Andrea Stramaccioni.
Referee: Marco Guida (Torre Annunziata).
Booked: Weiss 12, Gargano 14, Colucci 33, Zanon 36.
Added time: 0 + 3 minutes.
