Lazio moved back to the top of Serie A tonight thanks to an impressive 3-1 win over a lacklustre Inter Milan, increasing the pressure on Inter boss Rafael Benitez.
Giuseppe Biava put the hosts in front in the 26th minute and they seemed to be cruising to victory when Mauro Zarate doubled their lead in the 53rd minute.
However, Goran Pandev gave the defending champions hope in the 74th minute before Hernanes sealed a deserved win for Lazio with a free-kick in the 89th minute.
Esteban Cambiasso preferred to look on the bright side after Inter Milan crashed to their fourth defeat of the season against Lazio, insisting that the Nerazurri are still capable of mounting a title challenge
Rafael Benitez's side were beaten 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico, a result that sees them equal their total losses in Serie A from the whole of last season.
Inter now lie sixth in the table, seven points adrift of arch-rivals and league leaders AC Milan, having played a game more than the Rossoneri.
But Cambiasso is admamant that Inter will improve, and believes that other teams challenging for the Scudetto will slip up before the end of the season.
"We kept going, so that shows Inter are still mentally strong and have not given up. Now we must focus on the Club World Cup, an appointment that can put another cherry on the cake of an extraordinary year.
"Already having four defeats at this stage is a heavy burden, so now we are chasing and it no longer entirely depends on us. But seeing as in the past people always said the league was wide open when we were in front, I don't see why it shouldn't be the case now."
The Lazio defeat has piled further pressure on under-fire Benitez, who remarkably admitted after the game that his struggling side had one eye on the upcoming Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
"That is our most important appointment," Benitez said. "We knew this match would be difficult because our heads are already on the Club World Cup. It's also important to do well at Werder Bremen, as first place in the Champions League group is better than second.
Inter 10 points behind Milan liao.................playing in the useless World Club Cup some more............
they can give the title to Milan liao............
aiyoh.........Rafa..........how low can you sink some more...........losing to mickey mouse team like Lazio.........
it just goes to show, rafa can only manage in Spain. go back to La Liga lar.
Sebastian Prodl, Marko Arnautovic and Claudio Pizarro were on target as the Italians ended second behind Spurs in Group A.
if inter lose in cwc, the fat spanish waiter have no more excuses.
was hoping that inter meets Pool in the UCL.. hopefully, next season.
isnt it nice to be a manager?
get the sack and a big fat pay cheque to go with it.
• 'I feel betrayed,' says the Inter owner Massimo Moratti
• Benítez told there can be 'no alibis' in Abu Dhabi
Rafael Benítez's hopes of staying at Internazionale into 2011 look increasingly remote after the team's owner, Massimo Moratti, suggested for the first time that even winning the Club World Cup might not be enough to save the manager's job.
Last season's treble winners have won just two of their last nine games in all competitions, but despite such poor form Moratti had said as recently as last week that he would rate the season so far as a 10/10 if they triumphed in Abu Dhabi. Successive defeats to Lazio in Serie A and Werder Bremen in the Champions League since then seem to have changed the owner's tune.
"I feel betrayed," said Moratti when asked about the defeat to Bremen. He had warned Benítez beforehand that he expected Inter to take the game seriously despite the fact they had already qualified for the knockout rounds, saying that a good performance was "obligatory" and that the team must not embarrass itself. To lose 3-0, then, was a heavy blow, especially with the manager fielding a below full-strength team.
"Now there are no alibis, the Club World Cup must be won," continued Moratti. Asked specifically about whether Benítez's position was at risk, he replied: "I don't want to create problems: neither before nor during the tournament itself." And after the tournament? "Afterwards we will see."
Inter fielded a number of inexperienced players against Bremen, including the 18-year-old Cristiano Biraghi and the 19-year-old Obiora Nwankwo, making their first-ever starts for the club. Benítez defended the decision to field such players, saying it was important to avoid any further injuries – Diego Milito, Wesley Sneijder, Júlio César, Maicon and Dejan Stankovic were among those unavailable on Wednesday – before the Club World Cup.
But while Inter have suffered 42 separate injuries already this season – the highest number in Serie A – Moratti is known to feel that Benítez is at least partly to blame, having changed the team's training methods significantly since replacing José Mourinho. He has also criticised the manager for not producing a team with sufficient "rage" to grind out results.
With two rounds of Serie A fixtures set to be completed while Inter are away in Abu Dhabi, the Nerazzurri could find themselves as many as 16 points off the lead in Serie A when they return. "Benítez needs to show character," added Moratti. At this stage even that might not be enough.
dunno how on earth can rafa badly manage a CL winner and treble winner after in charge for a mere 5 months. imagine he is in charge of 5 seasons at inter, maybe inter could go from being champions to relegation candidates.
he failed at EPL and Serie A, go back to spain better lar.
Rafa must brush up his coaching skills in the S-League...............
let him coach Tampines Rovers............if still can't win in S'pore................
he better kill himself by jumping into the S'pore River.....................
Originally posted by trolol:if inter lose in cwc, the fat spanish waiter have no more excuses.
who say........Rafa may run out of ideas.............but he'll never run out of excuses............
he can say his players allergy to the grass in the stadium..................the ball is not round enough............
or that gravity at the pitch not working properly..............
Originally posted by Asromanista2001:
who say........Rafa may run out of ideas.............but he'll never run out of excuses............
he can say his players allergy to the grass in the stadium..................the ball is not round enough............
or that gravity at the pitch not working properly..............
haha!
benitez is a hopeless shit. they wont win any trophies this season.
the scariest part is he may not be finished yet.
now he's done with inter, i wonder which is the next moronic european club owner to take him.
im betting theres no shortage of victims. europeans alot of retards, just look at this moratti guy.
to come and fill the big big boots of his predecessor is already a big mistake.