Magic From Barella Saves Inter
As Romelu Lukaku pushed the ball past the stranded and
excellent Cagliari goalkeeper, Alessio Cragno, he had acres of green to run
into with no-one close enough to stop him. He ran on to smash in Inter’s third
goal, seal the win for us and startle the ball boy behind the goal. It was only
then I could rest easy. Normally I am at the edge of my seat for the duration of
each half as I am engrossed in the action, following every kick of the game.
This time, I allowed myself time to sit back and rest after Lukaku’s goal as it
secured victory for us in an exhausting game.
Cragno’s Brilliance
It didn’t seem much as we started the game on a hot day in
Sardinia. We weren’t really in our groove and Cagliari was aggressive in
midfield. It is always tough to play away against Cagliari anyways. We got into
the game slowly, our energy levels matched the heat sapping through and started
racking up chances. The game was open as it was not one-way traffic but only we
created chances to score. Every time we attacked, it looked like we would have
a goal attempt. Alessio Cragno in the Cagliari goal was having a blinder. He
was saving every attempt we had on goal. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
I got frustrated on some occasions as I felt our players should have shown
greater determination in getting on the end of crosses or be alert to follow up
on Cragno’s saves.
Conceding At The First Shot On Our Goal
As we kept being denied, in the back of my mind, I had this
nagging feeling that we will concede at the first shot on our goal. We have
seen this before and my worse fears were realised when Riccardo Sottil scored
from a tight angle. Samir Handanovic has been getting a lot of stick for not
diving or for the fact that we tend to concede with the opposition’s first shot
on target. That statistic doesn’t exude confidence, especially when at the other
end we keep missing chances to score. From being 0-1 down, we nearly went 0-2
down but thankfully Leonardo Pavoletti missed from close-range. At the other
end, Ivan Perisic found himself in a good position but a poor attempt
epitomised our finishing.
Barella Magic
The second half was less fluid and the longer the match wore
on, the more both sets of players got tired from the heat. Errors were creeping
in. Our play was slower and less fluid. Our goal attempts dried up as well. My
frustration was growing and the feeling of frustration has been a constant
companion whenever I have watched Inter this season. Our players were getting
into each other’s way, players were blazing over from good positions,
deflections were taking our shots wide, the ball was not dropping for us in the
box. It looked like one of those days where luck would desert us. That was
until the ex-Cagliari boy, Nicolo Barella unleashed a superb volley to finally
beat Cragno. Just the kind of strike to beat a goalkeeper in top form. It was
an emotional moment for Barella who came through the ranks at Cagliari. He then
delivered the telling cross for the ever-reliable Danilo D’Ambrosio to head
home at the back post. We can always trust him to get us a goal despite being a
defender by trade. He did it again.
Top Scorers In The League But Got To Do Better In Front Of Goal
Comments
Post a Comment