Recap: Inter Milan Edge Past Tottenham Hotspur As Gareth Bale Shines in 4-3 Goal-Fest
It was a tough outing for Tottenham Hotspur, as they faced Inter Milan for the Group A Champions League encounter. In the first 35 minutes, Tottenham were four goals down, while their goalkeeper, Heurelho Gomes, had been shown
the dressing room with a red card.
Samuel Eto’o scored a brace, while Javier Zanetti and Dejan Stankovic scored as well to give their team a 4-0 lead in the first half. However, Gareth Bale singlehandedly staged a comeback for the 10-men Tottenham team, as he scored
a hat-trick in the second half. Although the midfielder was instrumental in saving his team’s pride, he could not save a point for Spurs, who ultimately lost the match by 4-3.
Harry Redknapp stuck to his usual team, with three attacking midfielders and one striker upfront. Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon played as the main attacking force, behind the lone striker, Peter Crouch. There was some
criticism about the choice of formation, especially in the away games. Now, eight goals have been scored against Spurs in just three away games at Europe. Therefore, a lot of blame can be put on the manager for sticking to his usual playing formation, despite
having a tougher outing away from home.
Rafael Benitez, the manager of Inter Milan, chose an attacking side as well, with Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder and Dejan Stankovic. Javier Zanetti was playing in the midfield as well, which also proved to be a vital decision in
Inter Milan’s victory. However, Esteban Cambiasso was sitting on the bench, which allowed Gareth Bale a little freedom in the second half of the match.
Inter dominated the match from the first whistle, as the first goal came in just the second minute of the match. Eto’o fed a ball to Zanetti, who made no mistake and curled it into the goal. It was a dreadful night for Gomes, the
goal-keeper, as he was sent off after six minutes of the first goal. It was a ball played by Wesley Sneijder to Jonathan Biabiany, and Gomes rushed out to save the ball but he fouled instead. A direct red card was shown to the Spurs goalkeeper, and the resulting
penalty was scored by Samuel Eto’o.
After this incident, Carlo Cudicini was brought in as a substitution in place of Luka Modric. Tottenham was playing on the back-foot, but Inter Milan showed no signs of stopping. Within the next three minutes, a great passing move
resulted in yet another goal scored by Stankovic. The fourth goal came in 35th minute, and this time Eto’o scored after Cudicini failed to clear the ball.
There were plenty of chances for Inter to increase their lead in the first half, but they could not score another goal. Cudicini played a vital role as he saved shots from Eto’o, Maicon and Philippe Coutinho. Tottenham also had
a couple of chances, but Peter Crouch failed to score anything despite winning clear headers.
Against the run of play, it was Tottenham who scored the next goal. Gareth Bale scored a goal of the season, as he took the ball from his own half, beating a few Inter players and ending his run with a powerful shot. Julio Cesar
had no answer to that individual moment of brilliance, which resulted in the first goal for Tottenham.
Despite pulling a goal back, it was Inter who kept on dominating the match. Sneijder and Coutinho both came close to scoring, but the score-line remained the same till the 90th minute. When the match was almost finished,
Bale came up with two extraordinary finishes, restoring some of the pride of his team.
Tottenham face Inter again, in a fortnight, at White Hart Lane. The real problem would be that Gomes will miss that fixture due to his suspension. However, Spurs would have a chance to take their revenge, as London would prove
to be tough for Inter Milan.
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