Inter Milan edged closer to a Europa League spot on Tuesday night, as they beat Udinese 2-1 at the Stadio Friuli, thanks to goals from Mauro Icardi and Lukas Podolski.
Roberto Mancini’s men, however, should have seen off the game with a much more comfortable scoreline – with Zebrette being reduced to nine men.
Take a look at the match highlights below…
READ MORE:
Arsenal star Lukas Podolski hits out at Italian media: ‘Should I just give up playing football’
There was little to speak of in the first half – Inter were dominant in possession, but weren’t able to break the deadlock.
Udinese, however, suffered a nightmare ending to the first half, as Maurizio Domizzi was shown a second yellow card for this reckless challenge only minutes before the referee was to blow his whistle for half time.
With a tough half to come for Zebrette, they made life even more difficult themselves after conceding a penalty after just a minute of play.
It looked as though the referee had made the wrong decision, however replays proved it to be an excellent call from the official…
The penalty was calmly converted by Mauro Icardi…
Inter should have been comfortable after scoring against the ten men of Udinese, but the lead lasted only seconds, as Antonio Di Natale broke at the other end, netting his 205th Serie A goal in style – equalling Roberto Baggio’s record.
However, despite the comeback being on, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu heaped even more pressure on his side when he waved his arm in the referee’s face, and was deservedly shown his second yellow – meaning Andrea Stramaccioni’s men were to compete the final half an hour with just nine men.
Inter were struggling to capitalise on their man advantage, but super substitute Lukas Podolski came to the rescue with a thunderbolt of a strike on his left foot, his first for the club since joining on loan in January, which sealed three points for I Nerazzurri.