Inter Milan staggered to a 3-2 win over CSKA Moscow on the artificial pitch of the Luzhniki Stadium in a game that they made far harder than it should have been. The visitors went two goals up very quickly thanks to a goalkeeping error by Vladimir Gabulov that Lucio turned into a goal in the sixth minute and then a close range finish by Giampaolo Pazzini a quarter of an hour later. 2-0 at home is supposed to be a difficult score to overcome, especially since Inter, by and large, were in proper control.
CSKA Moscow Vs. Inter Milan, 2011 UEFA Champions League: Inter See Off Comeback, Win 3-2
On the very verge of halftime, the hosts got a goal back thanks to a stupendous free kick by Alan Dzagoev. Walter Samuel fouled Sekou Oliseh about 25 yards from goal, and Dzagoev stepped up to smash a shot straight into the top corner, with Julio Caser barely moving. It's unclear if he'd have gotten anywhere near the ball anyway, however. The second half saw Inter happy to absorb heavy pressure from CSKA, and they came close to conceding a number of times before the inevitable happened and Wagner Love found the net, cutting in past Javier Zanetti and Lucio before burying his effort at Cesar's near post to tie the game. It was the 77th minute, and that should have led to a 2-2 draw at fulltime.
It wasn’t to be, because Inter finally decided to put together an attack and responded immediately. Mauro Zarate, on for Giampaolo Pazzini when the forward suffered some sort of foot problem early in the half, proved an able replacement for his predecessor, smashing home from the edge of the area within a minute of Love’s equaliser with CSKA’s defence at sea. That would prove to be the decisive goal, and Inter would escape with a vital three points.
It was hardly a convincing win for Claudio Ranieri and company, but it was a win nonetheless, and a very important one at that. Inter have now got two victories on the trot without looking very impressive, but this could mark the beginning of the end of their descent into chaos.
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