Doha: Inter Milan came out on top of a closely contested contest in the first game of the last-eight at Al Kass, defeating Estudiantes 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.
The Argentines can count themselves unlucky to have lost in rather controversial circumstances, having harshly conceded a penalty with the game finely balanced.
Inter got the game underway and, initially at least, showed greater attacking intent, with Estudiantes working hard to deny space – conceding a succession of free kicks in the process. The Argentines seemed content to soak up the early Inter pressure, until the 10th minute when Mariono Merli tested Glulio Mangano with a skilful diving header that the Italian keeper did well to save.
Inter’s main attacking threat was coming down the left side, with Pio Russo’s tenacious running causing problems in the Argentine backline, although the end product into the area was sometimes lacking.
Russo had bagged a hat-trick in Milan’s opener against Shanghai Greenland, but he was finding opportunities more limited against a disciplined and highly physical Estudiantes backline, with right back Facundo Mura paying particularly close attention.
With half an hour gone, Milan had been unable to convert their superiority in possession into genuine chances and, if anything,
Estudiantes had created the better opportunities, although both goalkeepers were under-employed as the action was confined to a fascinating, and physical, midfield struggle.
But on 31 minutes Inter won a free kick eight yards out, wide on the left, following a foul by Matias Gonzalez on Russo. Tommaso Spaviero fired the ball into the area, and it was met by Giorgio Vitali, whose header forced a save from Ignacio Iguero, the first time the Argentine stopper had been called into meaningful action.
Estudiantes made a substitution at half time, with Santiago Chanapi replacing Pablo Corroto. Inter remained unchanged, as did the cagey nature of the contest, with chances at a premium.
However, on 52 minutes Estudiantes won a free kick wide on the left, which Chanapi crossed for Renzo Fucile to head, but his attempt sailed high and wide.
It was a sign that the Argentines were beginning to take the game to Inter, but the Milan rearguard remained largely untroubled, until the 65th minute when Ivan Equiaga broke towards the area from the right, only to be cynically stopped in his tracks by Andrea Gallina, inches outside the box.
The Italian defender received a yellow card, but the resultant free kick from Gonzalez was wasted.
As the closely fought contest entered the last 20 minutes, it remained impossible to pick a winner. Estudiantes were at least attempting to create goalscoring opportunities, but their shooting was generally wayward, allowing Inter to sit back and wait for the right moment to strike.
And that moment almost arrived on the 73rd minute when Thomas Schiro produced some sublime skills in the centre circle before setting Russo free down the inside left channel.
The diminutive forward beat the onrushing Aguero to the ball, but the Argentine keeper showed good anticipation to avert the danger with a smart save.
But Inter would not have to wait long for a second, decisive, moment to arrive. On 79 minutes substitute left back Roberto di Jenno broke down the wing and centred. Fucile blocked the cross, and referee Mashari Al Shammari immediately pointed to the spot. In fact, replays suggested that the ball had come off Fucile’s knee rather than his hand.
The Argentine was nevertheless cautioned, and his misery was compounded when Gaetano Maranzio stepped up to calmly dispatch the penalty kick, giving Inter a 1-0 lead they had barely deserved.
Estudiantes’ sense of injustice increased moments later, when they poured forward from the restart, and Erquiaga appeared to be impeded in the area by Federico Valietti. Al Shammari waved away the Argentines’ impassioned protests, and the Argentines’ agony was complete with four minutes remaining, as they committed players forward in search of an equaliser.
Inter’s Elia Visconti broke free down the left and, with the Estudiantes backline for once missing in action, ran half the length of the pitch before squaring to Luka Kerin, who only had the keeper to beat. Amazingly, his first-time effort from eight yards hit the post, but the ball rebounded and struck Aguero on the back of the head and cannoned in.
The incident epitomised the poor fortune that the Argentines had experienced.
Five minutes of injury time were added, but by now the Italians were home and dry, as Estudiantes struggled in vain for a response to the double sucker punch that they had just received. Inter advanced into the semi-finals and, while their performance was less than electrifying, the impression is growing that they are genuine championship challengers. After three matches, their record reads: played three, won three, scored twelve, conceded none.
The Peninsula
