Inter held by Twente
Rafael Benitez's Inter Milan only managed to secure a point away to FC Twente in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Dutch champions took the game to the Italians on their home ground, and the game finished at 2–2 after Michel Preud'homme's team contained Inter in the second half.
Before the break, it was Inter who took the lead. Diego Milito, who scored two goals as Inter overcame Bayern Munich in last season's Champions League final, was fed the ball on the left wing in the 13th
minute. The striker has looked a shadow of his former self in Inter's recent domestic fixtures, but showed no lack of quality as he cut outside right-back Roberto Rosales, finishing with his left foot, forcing a save from Nikolaj Mihajlov, that Wesley Sneijder
hammered home the rebound from.
Twente did not take long to bounce back; Inter gifted the Dutch side a free kick from a dangerous 25 yards out. There was plenty left to do, and the stadium erupted as Theo Janssen's belted strike found
the corner of the net. Janssen would try again, this time from further out, as his curling strike dipped just under Julio Cesar's bar, but the keeper did well, tipping it over.
Milito's misery made up for by Eto'o
The Dutch side was in front after the resulting corner, and some sloppy set-piece defending led to Milito steering Twente's corner into his own net.
Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso made a run into the box in the 36th minute, but after being fed a bouncing cross, his lofted finish towards the far corner of the goal hit the bar and went over the goal.
Benitez's men were clearly intent on fighting back, and they managed to draw level before half-time. Samuel Eto'o exchanged passes with the impressive Goran Pandev outside the area, rushing onto the ball
and sending a rolling shot towards the goal.
Mihajlov could have done better, but the Cameroonian's shot crept neatly inside his right post.
The second half saw Inter pressure the Dutch side, but the Italians never managed to break through the Twente defence. Neither McDonald Mariga's low shot nor Philippe Coutinho's effort from Eto'o's back
pass did enough to trouble Mihajlov.
"It is not an excellent result, but it is good enough," Benitez told Inter Channel after the draw. "I think the side is improving. The first half was not easy, but we could have handled it better. In the
second half, we improved and did well — with and without the ball."
In two weeks' time, Inter face Werder Bremen at the San Siro, while Twente travel to Champions League debutants Tottenham.
Tags: