Inter Milan remain top of Group B and are on the brink of qualifying for the next phase after a 2-1 win over French champions Lille at the San Siro.
Inter Milan stay top with a 2-1 win over bottom club Lille
Inter Milan remain top of Group B and are on the brink of qualifying for the next phase after a 2-1 win over French champions Lille at the San Siro.
Inter who also beat Lille 1-0 away two weeks ago were never entirely convincing but went ahead when central defender Samuel headed home following a corner in the 18th minute.
Milito atoned for a shocking miss when he added the second in the 65th minute, although Tulio de Melo pulled one back for Lille in the 83rd minute after a defensive mix-up.
Chance
Milito lobbed the ball against the bar after being sent clear by Cristian Chivu in the second minute as Inter were quick out of the blocks.
Although the French champions had plenty of possession Inter were more dangerous and Mauro Zarate, who had already tested Mickael Landreau with one shot nearly gave them the lead when another nearly slipped under the Lille keeper into the net.
From the resulting corner Samuel took advantage of slack marking to head in.
Lille continued to knock the ball around without offering much danger although midfielder Eden Hazard made life difficult for Luca Castellazzi with a shot which bounced awkwardly in front of the Inter stand-in keeper.
Miss
Milito missed an astonishing open goal at the start of the second half, firing over from six metres with only Landreau to beat and then squandered another chance shortly afterwards.
This time he broke clear but shot weakly at Landreau with Dejan Stankovic and Zarate both free to his right.
He made amends in the 65th minute flicking the ball in from close range after Javier Zanetti burst into the Lille area.
De Melo set up a tense finish with a delicate chip for his goal but 2010 winners Inter held on.
| Internazionale |
Team Statistics |
Lille |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
10 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 3 |
Corners |
13 |
| 11 |
Fouls |
21 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80.6 |
Passing Success |
80.7 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
9 |
| 86.7 |
Tackles Success |
77.8 |
| 46.9 |
Possession |
53.1 |
| 35.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
64.3 |
| 366 |
Total Passes |
398 |
| 11 |
Total Crosses |
36 |
| 132 |
Lost Balls |
140 |
| 39 |
Recoveries |
34 |
|
