Palermo v Inter: Bleh.

By: Martha | October 28th, 2007

Posting up. God that was dire. Well, I mean, there were moments of excitement and actual good play in the second half, I suppose, but the overall impression was of a walking pace and awful, careless passing by two team very happy with a 0-0 draw. Which one could understand from Inter’s perspective, I guess: Palermo are a potent attacking side and, despite some disappointment so far this season, are capable of scoring a lot of goals when in the right mood; any team visiting them would probably accept a low-scoring draw.

What I don’t understand, though, is why on earth Palermo would come out playing for a draw: They came out in front of a packed house at home playing 4-5-1, with the wingers not even really pushing forward. I feel like Zamparini here, but what on earth is that? It wasn’t as if Colantuono was lacking options, either — Miccoli was on the bench (and came on for a gimpy Bresciano before the half), as were Jankvoic and Cavani, all three of whom would have contributed more attacking power, even from the wing. Roberto Mancini must have been thrilled to see the opposition come out so conservatively, since his team spent the whole first half wandering around aimlessly and never having to pay for it. Stankovic had a great shot on the volley right before the whistle (and, shortly thereafter, went off with what looked like a serious ankle injury), but that was pretty much it from either team for the first 45.

Like I said, though, the second half was a bit better. Inter camped out in the Palermo end and had periodic actual chances, but Suazo was next to useless, and the last third was so crowded it was almost impossible for Zlatan to find any space. There were a few shots on goal, though: Chivu hit the bar with a late free kick and Fontana made a couple great saves to deny the Swede, one on a sick backheel and the other on a sharp header from close range. At the other end, Inter’s third-string keeper Paolo Orlandoni acquitted himself well when called upon, and Palermo failed to take advantage of their best chance, a free kick right on the edge of the area that Miccoli put over.

The point means Inter are still three points clear at the top despite Roma’s win; if Fiorentina beat Genoa tonight, though, the lead will shrink to just two.

Edit: PalermoSteven’s got his report up. He was bored, too.