Controversy in Catania
Inter grabbed a hard-fought 2-0 win away to Catania and there was more controversy as Esteban Cambiasso's opener was clearly offside.
The eight-point lead at the top of the table didn't disguise the Nerazzurri's recent problems, as only some debatable refereeing decisions allowed them to defeat relegation battlers Parma and Empoli. Catania had already held Juventus to a 1-1 draw here in January and had conceded just five times at home all season.
Patrick Vieira sat out a two-match ban for swearing at the referee, while Luis Figo and Douglas Maicon were injured. Last season this fixture ended with a spectacular 5-2 away victory.
It started as a bit of a midfield tussle, the first chance coming after 17 minutes with a Catania corner kick that Vargas and Izco just failed to make good contact with.
There was bad news for Inter, as Luis Jimenez limped off with a right thigh problem, making way for Pele'. Gennaro Sardo got a nasty knock to the back of the head courtesy of Cristian Chivu's knee.
Catania had the only real scoring opportunity of the game so far, as Izco unleashed a stunning right-foot screamer from over 30 metres that dipped inches over the bar.
Moments later Ivan Cordoba was booked for bringing down Giuseppe Mascara and from the resulting free kick Giuseppe Colucci curled over. The Nerazzurri could only threaten from set plays, as Ciro Polito slapped a free kick off Nicolas Andre Burdisso's head.
In the second half Cordoba cleared from Mascara and a Maxwell strike was charged down off Spinesi's arm from point-blank range just outside the box. Inter had nothing going forward, so Roberto Mancini replaced Chivu with David Suazo, switching to a 4-3-3 system.
A perfectly timed Lorenzo Stovini tackle stopped Ibra as he ran into the area, but at the other end Marco Materazzi had to clear as a Vargas free kick squirmed into the six-yard box past a sea of legs.
Mascara was quite rightly booked for simulation after diving over Burdisso's leg and apologetically accepted the ticking off. Catania wasted a great counter-attack opportunity by hesitating and then Polito fumbled a Suazo chest and volley into the ground. On 63 minutes, that was the first shot on target of the entire match.
Inter broke the deadlock in controversial circumstances moments later. A cross was headed back across the face of goal by Javier Zanetti for Esteban Cambiasso to tap in from five yards, but he was clearly in an offside position.
Jorge Martinez was introduced, but Inter doubled their advantage. This time Suazo sprung the offside trap legally on Ibrahimovic's pass and waltzed round the goalkeeper to slot into an empty net.
Some wonderful Zanetti build-up play saw the cross dribble past Julio Cruz, while Spinesi has penalty appeals waved away for contact with Burdisso, which seemed to be accidental at the most.
Burdisso did well to charge down Mascara's half-volley and the striker seemed to suffer a thigh problem during that move.
The Catania crowd was unhappy with the refereeing of Stefano Farina and took a curious method of protesting by sarcastically chanting his name and cheering loudly every time he blew the whistle.
Cruz risked making it 3-0 in the final minute, shrugging off Stovini to thump the outside of the near post.
Pele cleared a dangerous 'rabona' from Jorge Martinez - when one crosses the legs over and hits the ball with the back foot.
Catania: Polito; Sardo (Alvarez 74), Silvestri, Stovini, Vargas; Baiocco, Edusei, Izco; Colucci (Martinez 67), Spinesi, Mascara
Inter: Julio Cesar; Burdisso, Cordoba, Materazzi, Maxwell; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Chivu (Suazo 55); Jimenez (Pele' 27); Ibrahimovic (Maniche 71), Cruz
Ref: Farina :faq2:
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