By Anna Italia


                             FC Inter   2  -  1  Palermo   
                                      5' Patrick Vieira              25' Marco Materazzi (own goal)
                                    36' Luis Jimenez

Substitutions:  62' Luis Jimenez out, Luis Figo in                       46' Fabrizio Miccoli out, Bosko Jankovic in
                         79' Zlatan Ibrahimovic out, Hernan Crespo in   46' Roberto Guana out, Giovanni Tedesco in
                         94' Patrick Vieira out, Rivas in                            80' Cassani out, Cavani in

After the elimination of the  UEFA Champions League by Liverpool and the controversial decision of Inter Coach Roberto Mancini to quit by the end of the season, challenge for Inter was to come back strong and win or risk losing difference points with AS ROMA following closely in the second position with 6 points difference.  Luckily for Inter, they managed to beat Palermo and keep the Serie A Standing leadership.

                                

Honestly, I was expecting at least a draw.  I had my bottle of Sicilian Wine "Corvo" ready to celebrate a draw or Palermo's victory.  Well, that was just a wishful thinking lasting until the 36th minute.

Imagine, the first goal came just within 10 minutes! 

In the 4th minute, Inter wins a free kick and Captain Javier Zanetti. Guess what!  Right after, in the 5th minute, Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends an assist to midfielder Patrick Vieira who just headed the ball  from the center of the box directly to the very top right corner not missing an inch and there you go my friends, GOOOOAAAALLLL. 
FC INTER 1 - 0 PALERMO

          Here is VIEIRA heading the ball while Palermo defenders just observe the final destination!
                  

This early goal gave Inter fans an occasion to increase their chant supporting the neriazzurri.  Palermo, hello, I was waiting to see an immediate response. 

                                              Ibrahimovic congratulates VIEIRA with Maicon.
                    Ibrahimovic gave the assist to Vieira. Hey, Ibra either scores or provides assists!

                       

                                                     Vieira celebrates his goal with MAICON.

                                      


In the 16th minute, Palermo almost equalized the score after a free kick from Fabrizio Miccoli.  Miccoli shoots the ball and Rinaudo heads but Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar was right there to deny this goal.

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic was FLYING!!!!  No way he was going to give the ball away!  Look at Miccoli observing amazed.
                  

Sure, the draw arrived, but not from a Palermo player. You will never guess who gave the temporary draw to Palermo. Are you ready?  Well, it was Inter defender Marco Materazzi scoring an own goal!!!!!  OH OH.  You bet poor Materazzi wanted to disappear!  

Well, I won't blame Materazzi. He was trying to defend the net after Palermo started to bombard goalkeeper Julio Cesar.  First it was Fabrizio Miccoli with a right footed shot from outside the box, Julio Cesar saves. However, immediately,  Simplicio was about to score with a left footed shot from the center of the box. Here is where Materazzi did the unthinkable. Instead of deflecting the ball, the ball went inside the net.  What a big help for Palermo. 
FC INTER 1 - 1 PALERMO

Oh well, up to here, everything was fine.  That result shortened the distance with Roma  to 4 points. Though, the dream lasted only 10 minutes!  Too good to be true, right? Right!

In the 36th minute, Chilean Luis Jimenez delivered the winning goal for Inter!  After an assist by Maicon, Jimenez shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner blasting Palermo goalkeeper Alberto Fontana while the Giuseppe Meazza stadium exploded of joy! 
FC INTER 2 - 1 PALERMO

                 Amazing, look at Palermo defense on the ground!  Great way to score for Jimenez,
                                    here we can say "he literally blasted Palermo defense!"

                   

I must say that Palermo midfielder Bosko Jankovic impressed me.  He substituted Fabrizio Miccoli in the 46th minute.  Jankovic was energetic and had several attempts to score but Julio Cesar denied him the joy.

                      

By the way, when Inter Coach Roberto Mancini substituted in the 80th minute Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Hernan Crespo, you could tell by Ibrahimovic's expression that he wasn't happy with this substitution. 

So much for dreaming.  No hope yet.  Inter continue to lead the Italian Serie A Standings with 67 points followed by Roma with 61 points.  I was not happy with Palermo's performance. Come on, not even scoring one?  Wonder whether Palermo Coach Francesco Guidolin will continue or will he be finally sack.  So, guys, I will save my bottle of Sicilian wine for another celebration.


LINEUPS

Week 28 Italian Serie A Tim 2007 - 2008  Twenty Eighth Round Matchday 28 Sunday, March 16,  2008  FC INTER 2 - 1 PALERMO Giuseppe Meazza Stadium Scorers: 5' Vieira, 26' Materazzi (og), 35' Jimenez Referee: Andrea De Marco (Chiavari) Assistants:  Papi, Niccolai                     Fourth Official: Lops Italian Soccer Serie A.com
FC INTER		PALERMO
14(6)	Shots (on Goal)		10(4)
2	Goals		1
22	Fouls		12
3	Corner Kicks		2
3	Offsides		2
52%	Ball Possession		48%
2	Yellow Cards		2
0	Red Cards		0
4	Saves		4

FC INTER

Goalkeeper: 12 Julio Cesar;

Defenders: 13 Maicon, 16 Burdisso, 23 Marco Materazzi, 26 Christian Chivu;
Midfielders: 14 Patrick Vieira (24 Rivas 90+4), 19 Esteban Cambiasso, 4 Javier Zanetti; 11 Luis Jimenez (7 Luis Figo 62);
Forwards: 8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (18 Hernan Crespo 79), 9 Julio Cruz.

Subs not used: 1 Toldo, 21 Solari, 29 David Suazo, 30 Pelé.

Coach: Roberto Mancini.

PALERMO

Goalkeeper: 12 Alberto Fontana;
Defenders: 2 C. Zaccardo, 77 Rinaudo, 21 Biava;
Midfielders: 16 Cassani (7 Cavani 80), 14 Roberto Guana (4 Giovanni Tedesco '46), 8 Migliaccio, 30 Simplicio, 42 Balzaretti;
Forwards: 11 Amauri, 10 Fabrizio Miccoli (17 Bosko Jankovic '46).

Subs not used: 1 Agliardi, 20 Caserta, 23 Bresciano, 43 Andrea Barzagli.

Coach: Francesco Guidolin.

Booked: Migliaccio 22, Rinaudo 36, Guana 37, Crespo 81, Materazzi 88.