This game was a thing that happened. This weekend was a thing that happened. Unfancied Palermo emerged triumphant over Inter Milan at the Renzo Barbera, somehow turning a 1-0 halftime deficit into a bizarre 4-3 win and capping off a 35-goal opening weekend for Serie A with what is sure to go down as one of the best matches of the season.
Palermo Vs. Inter Milan: Hosts Emerge With 4-3 Win After Crazy Match
Things started in promising fashion for the hosts, who were having no trouble scything through a confused Inter back line, deployed by Gian Gasperini in a Napoli-imitating 3-4-3. It didn't work very well, and only some poor play by Palermo's forwards (particularly Abel Hernandez, who made a habit of running straight into Lucio rather than going past him or passing to one of his colleagues) prevented the Sicilians from taking advantage of their guests' disorganisation in the early stages.
Inter weren't without their moments, however, and they would grab a lead in the 33rd minute when a long-range effort by Dejan Stankavic following a corner was deflected in by Diego Milito in clever fashion. Goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas had no chance at all, with the shot redirected all of six yards from goal. The goal took the wind of out Palermo's sails and looked to have inspired the visitors - Inter were certainly far more cohesive for the remainder of the first half, although how much of that we should attribute to the introduction of Wesley Sneijder is unclear.
At the interval, things didn’t look particularly great for Palermo. Their strong start had fizzled out and Inter were finally getting into the swing of things. Having failed to take advantage of the opportunity to blow their opponents out of the water, it seemed rather unlikely that the match would end up in their favour. Fortunately for neutrals (and Palermo fans too, I suppose), the unlikely did happen in the form of a crazy second half.
Fabrizio Miccoli started the comeback after converting a through ball, slotting past a helpless Julio Cesar in the 47th minute, but it wasn’t long until that hope too seemed dashed - Milito was only denied his second goal of the night through the intervention of Giulio Migliaccio’s outstretched hand and although that penalty appear was for some reason declined, it wasn’t long until Inter earned a spot kick.
Matias Silvestre really should have known better than to bundle Wesley Sneijder over from a corner when the referee had just failed to give Inter a clear-cut penalty, but apparently he didn't and he did, Christian Brighi showing zero hesitation as he pointed to the spot. Milito stepped up and powered a shot down the middle, with Tzorvas diving out of the way as the visitors re-established their lead.
Just as the 1-1 scoreline was quickly banished into the dust of history , 2-1 Inter didn’t last very long. Abel Hernandez, who had previously been doing a lot of running for very little production, finally found his hard work taking him somewhere useful as he popped up a few yards from goal to convert Miccoli’s clever square pass. It was 2-2 and back to even terms thanks to three goals in eight minutes, and with several more chances soon to follow it seemed as thought the scoreline could approach silly-land.
The storm subsided somewhat after that, to everyone's belief. Inter were too busy committing and getting away with red-cardable offences (I'm looking at you, Walter Samuel) to create much in the way of an attacking threat, and Palermo were amusing themselves by badly screwing up each and every chance they had to get in behind their visitors' still-confused back line.
So was the match going to fizzle out to a 2-2 draw? Like fun it was. Miccoli struck from a free kick in the 86th minute, sending a beautiful curling effort past a diving Cesar and into off the post. Inter and Cesar were so stunned that they forgot to keep defending, and in seconds it was 4-2 as substitute Mauricio Pinilla drove in a dipping effort that the goalkeeper looked up at hopefully rather than bother with the messy business of attempting a save. With just minutes to go, things looked over and done with.
Not so, said Diego Forlan! I will make this game even more lunatic than it had been with my magical ability to score goals! The Uruguayan, finally assuming a central position after pretending to be a winger for much of the match, was slipped through by Sneijder to start a grandstanding finish in which it seemed almost certain that Inter would pull off a comeback of their own. Eventually, though, time ran out - and one of the best Serie A games in recent memory was over, with Palermo somehow ending up 4-3 winners. Yeah, that really did happen.
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