Under-fire Balotelli nets in Inter win
Reuters - Saturday 21 November 2009, 22:07
ROME - Teenage forward Mario Balotelli
responded to flak from coach Jose Mourinho by scoring to help
Serie A leaders Inter Milan to a 3-1 win at Bologna on Saturday.
Balotelli, replaced by Samuel Eto'o at half-time, headed home
a corner in the 42nd minute after Bologna's Marcelo Zalayeta had
cancelled out Diego Milito's opener for the champions.
Esteban Cambiasso drove home a diagonal strike in the 72nd
to seal a win that gives Inter 32 points from 13 games.
Promoted Parma moved up to third with 23 points courtesy of
a breathtaking 3-2 victory at Fiorentina.
Balotelli has been criticised several times recently for his
attitude by Mourinho, who gave the 19-year-old a mark of "close
to zero" for his performance in Inter's 1-1 draw with AS Roma
before the international break.
Balotelli, an Italian of Ghanaian descent, celebrated his
goal by raising his finger to his lips and commentators on Sky
TV suggested the reaction was probably in response to racist
chants from a section of the home crowd.
Before scoring Balotelli wasted a glorious chance when his
hesitation allowed Bologna goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano to close
him down before he shot.
"We won well, without any problems, we deserved it,"
Mourinho told Sky. "Mario had a normal first half. He missed one
chance but he scored another," said the coach, adding he brought
him off to avoid the risk of a red card after he was booked.
Inter had bad luck with the score at 1-1 when a Dejan
Stankovic strike hit one post and then the other before Viviano
scrambled to the ball, while Milito rattled the bar before
Cambiasso nailed their third goal.
They had full-back Maicon sent off in stoppage time,
apparently for dissent.
Later on Saturday forward Davide Lanzafame sprinted onto a
long ball and coolly slid in Parma's winner in the 67th minute.
Italy forward Alberto Gilardino had nodded Fiorentina ahead
in the first half and then used his head again soon after the
hour to equalise after the visitors had taken the upper hand
with goals by Nicola Amoruso and Valeri Bojinov.
Fiore's Marco Donadel was given a second yellow card four
minutes from time for a dangerous challenge with both feet.