BELGRADE - Inter sealed their place in the UEFA
Europa League round of 32 with two games to spare. Rodrigo Palacio
grabbed himself a double after coming off the bench before Fredy Guarin made it three
late on: Partizan were beaten 1-3. It was the Nerazzurri's tenth victory on the spin in all games and also their tenth consecutive away win - a new club record.
The first half finished goalless thanks to Handanovic, who kept the scores level with two top-class saves from Ivanov in the space of a minute, proving once again how important he is for this team. After the restart, having rode their luck a little with Juan Jesus almost inadvertently succeeding where Ivanov failed, Inter took the lead thanks to Palacio, the Argentine well placed to chest home Guarin's powerful cross. Partizan intensified their efforts and sought an equaliser but Handanovic kept the door shut. With 75 minutes on the clock Palacio made it 0-2, latching onto Guarin's through ball and sprinting towards goal before beating Petrovic with a neat angled finish. Guarin twice the provider, Palacio twice the finisher. Inter weren't in the mood for sitting on the lead though, and with three minutes to go Guaro added his own name to the score sheet after collecting Cassano's through ball, with Palacio involved in the build-up. Tomic scored a consolation goal for Partizan in the last minute of normal time.
Stramaccioni's side now sit on 10 points, level with Rubin Kazan and their place in the knockout stage is certain. All that remains to be decided is who will qualify as group winners: Rubin Kazan v Inter in two weeks' time may well settle the matter.
Partizan Belgrade 1-3 Inter (HT: 0-0)
Scorers: Palacio 51 and 75, Guarin 87, Tomic 90.
Partizan Belgrade:
30 Petrovic; 2 Miljkovic, 40 Ostojic, 15 Ivanov, 18 Lazevski; 4 Medo
(M. Scepovic 55), 99 Smiljanic; 50 L. Markovic, 22 S. Ilic (Jojic 30), 7 Tomic; 12 S. Scepovic (Mitrovic 69).
Unused subs: 33 R. Ilic, 3 Volkov, 11 Ninkovic, 17 Sretenovic.
Coach: Vladimir Vermezovic.
Inter:
1 Handanovic; 42 Jonathan, 6 Silvestre, 40 Juan Jesus, 55 Nagatomo (Palacio 46); 4 Zanetti, 14 Guarin, 16 Mudingayi (Gargano 14), 19
Cambiasso, 31 Pereira; 88 Livaja (Cassano 76).
Unused subs: 12 Castellazzi, 28 Pasa, 52 Romanò, 22 Milito.
Coach: Andrea Stramaccioni.
Referee: Pereira Gomes (Por).
Booked: Ostojic 48, Juan Jesus 55, Silvestre 73, Jojic 78.
Added time: 2+2 minutes.
