Leonardo pleased with a hard-fought win against Cesena
New Inter Milan manager Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief after his side battled their way to a 3-2 win against Cesena at the San Siro on Wednesday.
The reigning Serie A champions took an early two-goal lead, but then seemed to have thrown it all away after Cesena equalised with quickfire goals from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristian-c9491 Chivu’s 45th minute strike restored
Inter’s one goal lead just before the half time whistle, and the hosts held on to that slender advantage to walk away with all three points.
Inter manager Leonardo was understandably relieved to see his side battle back to clinch all three points against 17th placed Cesena; however, he was well aware that Inter’s loss of concentration could have cost them the game.
The Brazilian said, “It was a really difficult game, almost a paradox, with the team playing really well, it then took a 2-0 lead but then there was the change and as the team tried to adjust the opposition got their goals and what happened, happened. Then
in the second half we conceded less. Overall we suffered in this game, but there was an enormous effort from everyone.”
Many believe that Inter owner Massimo Moratti only appointed Leonardo as manager to rile AC Milan fans, especially since the Brazilian has such a storied history with Inter’s city rivals. However, Leonardo’s results more than justify Moratti’s faith in him.
The victory against Cesena marks Leonardo’s fourth successive win in charge at Inter Milan since he took over from Rafael Benitez at the end of December 2010. It is a remarkable turnaround for the ailing champions, who have struggled to find their form in
this campaign.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 have now moved up to fourth place in the Serie A standings, six points behind leaders AC Milan. If they can keep up this winning streak, they might just be in with a shot of retaining their Serie A crown in the 2010-11 season.
Leonardo’s next test is against Udinese on Sunday, 23 January, 2011.
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