Defensive Woes Mount as Inter Sink Genoa

Inter responded well to their thrashing at the hands of Sampdoria, as they won comfortably against Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Goals in both halves from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli respectively gave Inter yet another controversy marred victory over a Genoa side, who were unbeaten at home up until this point.

However, the victory came at a heavy price for Inter, who lost two of their central defenders within the first half hour as both Materazzi and Burdisso were taken off due to injury.

First Half:

The game began in frantic pace, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck in the second minute for Inter, lobbing the ball beautifully over Genoa goalkeeper Rubinho.

At the other end of the pitch, Materazzi limped off with an injury barely 15 minutes into the game, making way for Columbian international Ivan Cordoba.

Julio Cesar showed why he is amongst the best keepers in the world when he denied Thiago Motta's powerful header from point blank range resulting from a Biava free-kick.

Half an hour into the game, Sulley Muntari replaced Burdisso, who picked up an injury following a challenge on Milito.

Inter took their single goal lead into the second half after Julio Cesar denied both Motta and Milito just before the half time whistle.

Second Half:

Genoa, who were yet to lose at the Ferraris stadium, started the second half full of determination and pressed forward. However, it was Inter who scored again, this time through Balotelli with Ibrahimovic being the play-maker.

Controversy erupted again, as so often with Inter this season, when Balotelli's goal stood despite appearing that the ball had not fully crossed the goal line, but the linesman thought otherwise.

Genoa tried to fight back with Olivera and Padallino doing some good work after coming on as substitutes, but Genoa failed to find the back of the net handing Inter a confidence boosting victory ahead of their trip to Manchester United.

In view of the upcoming fixture with Manchester United, the defensive worries are mounting up for Inter, with Materazzi and Burdisso joining the treatment table along with Samuel and Chivu.

The good news for Inter however, is that Walter Samuel and Christian Chivu are both expected to be fit to make the trip to Old Trafford. Given the way Inter were outplayed in the first leg of their tie against Manchester, it is imperative that both of them recover on time and are fit enough to play on Wednesday.