weird sort of game, that ... when Zlatan found Adriano for that audacious overhead in the opening seconds of the match, I thought we'd be in for a real show ... and, to be honest, the game could have been buried in that first half ... Maicon's goal -- and it was a superb chip into the back of the net -- instead of propelling Inter into cruise control, only seemed to instigate Bremen into action ... Julio Cesar, as usual, kept Inter in the lead ... but when Balotelli released Stanković with a great ball over the top, I thought it had to be 2-0 and game over; and had Deki pulled the ball back for Zlatan to put into an unguarded net, that certainly would have been the case ... then Zlatan's mazy dribble where he schooled three or four defenders before being illegally halted deserved more -- it deserved a freekick at least, but the ref wasn't forthcoming ...
before the match started, though, I expected Bremen to sneak a surprise in this one ... having seen Bremen's exploits in the week leading up to this, I actually included Mesut Özil in my fantasy football team -- that's how in-form a few of their players were ... and Inter's loss to Milan affected the team more mentally than it did the league standing ...
Diego, Özil, and ex-Ajaced Rosenberg all looked lively up front ... when they finally broke through, Pizarro somehow bungled a golden chance to equalize in the first half ... that should have been the wake-up call to the Inter defence to firm up ... but with Burdisso in the mix, I guess that was always going to be asking for a bit much ... it was no surprise when they got their goal soon after the break; and no surprise that Özil was the architect ... and late in the game, Pizarro (again) managed to miss an absolute sitter that should have sealed a famous win ...
Maicon was at fault for allowing Pizarro to get in behind him at the far post for the equalizer, but the beastman almost made up for it with a superb effort -- a few centimetres of accuracy separated him from a contender for goal of Matchday 2 ... there were a few other "oh so close moments" -- Zlatan's trivela cross just eluding Cruz was agony ... it's not been a great few days for JM & Co. ...
but, like i said after the Milan game, this is the best time to learn from mistakes ... last season, Zlatan was unstoppable at the begninning of the season -- there was just no defending against the guy ... Inter were cruising ... but when the second half of the season came, Zlatan's knee injury cropped up, the team were getting the worse of 50-50 breaks (which, when compounded, can be seriously compromising), and the season "capitulated" to a last-gasp Serie A retention ...
it'd be far better -- and I think most would agree -- if the first half of the season sees you work out your best combinations, grind out results when you need to, but keep yourself in contention on all fronts; the second is when you should see the team hit stride, and the stars in red-hot form ... JM knows this all too well, so no need to fret ... the flashes of brilliance are evident ... it will come together, and all will be well, I have no doubts ...