© EuroFootball.com
The "Inter" club from Milan continued their incredible winning streak in all tournaments by crushing Genoa's "Sampdoria" team in the semifinals of the Italian Cup on Wednesday, approaching their third consecutive final. Meanwhile, in the postponed match of the "Serie A" championship, "Catania" defeated "Empoli" and regained the fourth position.
0 - 3
9' [0 - 1] Nicolas Burdisso
24' [0 - 2] Hernan Crespo
56' [0 - 3] Nicolas Burdisso
The first match took place at the "Marassi" stadium in Genoa, where current "Inter" coach Roberto Mancini became a legend during his playing days. However, the strategist showed no mercy to his former club as both teams took to the field with strong line-ups. In the 9th minute, defender Nicolas Burdisso redirected the ball into the goal after a penalty kick by Luis Figo.
This season, "Inter" plays ruthlessly and in the 24th minute, they scored their second goal of the match after another opportunity, with Hernan Crespo heading in the ball passed by L.Figo during a corner play. "Sampdoria" did not give up and also had opportunities to score, but the successful play of goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved the visitors.
The winner was finally determined in the 56th minute - after another set-piece, N. Burdisso scored his second goal of the match with a header, ensuring another victory for the "Inter" club. Until the end of the match, the score remained the same, with the defending cup champions from Milan moving closer to a big third consecutive final, where they could potentially face the winner of the "Milan" and "Roma" pair.
2 - 1
52' [1 - 0] Fabio Caserta
54' [1 - 1] Antonio Busce
61' [2 - 1] Giuseppe Mascara
The 16th match between "Catania" and "Empoli", postponed due to poor weather conditions on December 17, 2006, became a surprising clash between two modest teams fighting for the fourth spot.
In a nervous first half, no goals were scored, but after the break, the hosts "Catania" players began to focus more on the attack and capitalized on the visitors' missed opportunities by scoring in the 52nd minute with a weak shot by Fabio Caserta against the opponent's goalkeeper.
However, the Sicilian advantage lasted only a couple of minutes, as shortly after, Antonio Busce equalized the score with a precise header, and moments later almost scored again, but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Armando Pantanelli.
The open game continued, and after playing for just over an hour, "Catania" restored their lead with a beautiful goal - Giuseppe Mascara acrobatically directed the ball into the net with a leap over himself after Lorenzo Stovini's shot rebounded off the crossbar.
At the end of the match, "Catania" could have increased their lead, while "Empoli" had chances to level the score, but the hosts held on and secured important three points, allowing the Sicilian club to surpass "Empoli" by one point in the standings and strengthen their fourth position.
