Inter ease to away win
Routine victory for Serie A giants
Last Updated: October 4, 2012 8:21pm
Coutinho: On target as Inter Milan eased to victory
Inter Milan completed a routine 3-1 away win over Azerbaijan's Neftchi to move to four points from two Europa League Group H matches.
The Nerazzuri kicked off their campaign by salvaging a last-gasp home draw against Rubin Kazan but were back to winning ways against Azerbaijani opposition on Thursday.
Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring after 10 minutes with Joel Obi (30) and Marko Livaja (42) adding to the first-half lead before Nicolas Canales scored the hosts' consolation eight minutes after the restart.
Inter got the ball rolling with their first meaningful attack of the day, Fredy Guarin defeating the offside trap and cutting the ball across goal for Coutinho to produce a neat flicked finish.
Guarin followed two minutes later with a shot of his own but was denied by Igor Mitreski's block.
Neftchi produced a couple of half-chances in response but had failed to draw a serious save by the time Obi made it 2-0.
Assist
Coutinho fed Guarin, who again provided the assist from the right flank, with Obi adding the finishing touch.
The result was virtually assured when Livaja prodded home from close range three minutes before the break following Bruno Bertucci's misplaced pass.
Bertucci tried to make amends with a rasping shot that drew a strong save from Samir Handanovic and Rashad Sadygov also tried his luck before Neftchi got on the scoreboard via Canales.
Julius Wobay drilled in the cross and Canales made enough contact to steer it goalwards.
Inter returned to their first-half form briefly as Alvaro Pereira had successive shots beaten away by Sasa Stamenkovic and Livaja forced a corner with a 20-yard attempt but, a powerful Bertucci free-kick aside, the intensity died away in the last 20 minutes.
Matches
-
Europa League
Thu 4th Oct - Group H
Thu 4th Oct - Group A
Thu 4th Oct - Group I
Thu 4th Oct - Group J
Thu 4th Oct - Group K
Thu 4th Oct - Group L
Thu 4th Oct - Group G
Thu 4th Oct - Group B
Thu 4th Oct - Group C
Thu 4th Oct - Group D
Thu 4th Oct - Group E
Thu 4th Oct - Group F
Tables
Europa League Group A
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 10 |
| 2 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | BSC Young Boys Bern | 6 | 10 |
| 4 | Udinese | 6 | 4 |
Europa League Group B
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Viktoria Plzen | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | Academica | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | Hapoel Tel-Aviv | 6 | 4 |
Europa League Group C
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fenerbahce | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | Borussia Monchengladbach | 6 | 11 |
| 3 | Marseille | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | AEL | 6 | 4 |
Europa League Group D
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bordeaux | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | Newcastle United | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Maritimo | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Club Brugge | 6 | 4 |
Europa League Group E
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Steaua Bucuresti | 6 | 11 |
| 2 | Stuttgart | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | FC Copenhagen | 6 | 8 |
| 4 | Molde | 6 | 6 |
Europa League Group F
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dnipro | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | Napoli | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | PSV Eindhoven | 6 | 7 |
| 4 | AIK | 6 | 4 |
Europa League Group G
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genk | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Basel | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Videoton FC Fehervar | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Sporting Lisbon | 6 | 5 |
Europa League Group H
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rubin Kazan | 6 | 14 |
| 2 | Inter Milan | 6 | 11 |
| 3 | Partizan Belgrade | 6 | 3 |
| 4 | FC Neftchi | 6 | 3 |
Europa League Group I
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyon | 6 | 16 |
| 2 | Sparta Prague | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Athletic Bilbao | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | Hapoel Kiryat Shmona | 6 | 2 |
Europa League Group J
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lazio | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | Panathinaikos | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | Maribor | 6 | 4 |
Europa League Group K
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metalist Kharkiv | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | Rosenborg | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Rapid Vienna | 6 | 3 |
Europa League Group L
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannover 96 | 6 | 12 |
| 2 | Levante | 6 | 11 |
| 3 | Helsingborgs IF | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | FC Twente | 6 | 4 |
