Inter Milan picked up a precious point in Russia following a 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan.
Stankovic header cancels out Dominguez opener as Balotelli sees red
Inter Milan picked up a precious point in Russia following a 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan in the UEFA Champions League.
Alejandro Dominguez's opening goal for Kazan was cancelled out by Dejan Stankovic's header before half-time but the Nerazzurri then had Mario Balotelli sent off early in the second period and had to withstand a late onslaught from the hosts.
Jose Mourinho's side played out a goalless draw with Group F favourites Barcelona in their opening match but they were immediately pushed onto the back foot as Kazan responded to an incredible atmosphere at the Tsentralnyi Stadium.
Argentine striker Dominguez has been in superb form in recent weeks and he had already posed plenty of problems by the time he broke the deadlock in style on 11 minutes, latching onto a pass from Alexander Bukharov and charging past Lucio and Walter Samuel before confidently finishing high into the net.
Inter suddenly became much more urgent after conceding such an early goal and Lucio fired a low shot narrowly wide from outside the area.
The Serie A outfit still looked vulnerable at the back and almost fell 2-0 behind when Cesar Navas headed wide from a Dominguez cross, but for long periods it was Kazan who found themselves under the most intense pressure.
Samuel Eto'o came close to scoring his first Champions League goal in Inter colours when his effort from a tight angle was kept out by Sergei Ryzhikov, while Lucio blazed over from the resulting corner.
Inter did not have to wait too long to draw level as Stankovic lost his marker and nodded home Maicon's pinpoint cross from the right after 27 minutes, and Mario Balotelli nearly scored again moments later with a curling strike from distance that crashed against the crossbar.
Competitive
Inter looked likeliest to score again before the interval but Kurban Berdyev's men recovered their composure at the start of the second half, the early stages of which were much more competitive with both sides battling hard in midfield.
Kazan appealed for a penalty on the hour mark when Bukharov went to ground following a tangle with Samuel but Norwegian referee Terje Hauge dismissed his claims.
Hauge was at the centre of the action again just a minute later when he showed a second yellow card to Balotelli following a clumsy challenge on Christian Noboa.
Reduced to ten men, Mourinho decided to make a tactical change and brought on Ricardo Quaresma for the ineffectual Mancini, but Kazan could sense an opportunity and pressed forward with renewed vigour.
Bukharov failed to connect cleanly when presented with a decent chance in a crowded box, while Alexander Ryazantsev also scuffed a shot wide after showing some nimble footwork to escape from a couple of tackles.
Julio Cesar fumbled a long-range Dominguez free-kick but was able to gather the ball at the second attempt, before Bukharov headed wide with the goal at is mercy following an excellent delivery from Gokdeniz Karadeniz.
Inter were sitting deeper and deeper in their own half as the clock ticked down and there were more agonising near-misses for Kazan in the final ten minutes, with Sergei Semak rattling the post from an acute angle.
Kazan were not able to force a winner in their first home game in the competition and now face a stiff task to reach the last 16, having lost at Dynamo Kiev last time out.
| Rubin Kazan |
Team Statistics |
Internazionale |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 7 |
Corners |
4 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
15 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 77.8 |
Passing Success |
76.8 |
| 30 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 93.3 |
Tackles Success |
68.4 |
| 50.8 |
Possession |
49.2 |
| 55.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.3 |
|
