Livorno 2-2 Inter Milan
Inter hit the self-destruct button several times again in Livorno, going down after a minute against their bottom-of-the-table hosts, and eventually scrapping a 2-2 draw after Maicon was sent off late in the second half for a silly kick at Erjon Bogdani.
Livorno played with a 3-5-2 formation with Alessandro Diamanti and Erjon Bogdani up front, while Inter lined up with a 4-4-2 formation with Adriano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as strikers.
After just one minute, Livorno were in front as Ivan Cordoba made a glaring mistake on a long pass from midfield. He completely missed the ball, allowing Daniele De Vezzi to take the ball and he easily beat Julio Cesar.
The hosts were dangerous again in the fifth minute, when a dangerous shot by Diamanti fired a shot from outside the area that went just wide.
Inter reacted in the 7th minute, when Adriano and Ibrahimovic played a nice one-two before freeing up Maicon for a shot, which was well saved by Marco Amelia.
In the 9th minute, there was the first of several controversial episodes in this match as defender Nicolas Burdisso seemed to handle the ball inside the area as he had a tussle with Diamanti. The referee ignored the incident, however.
A minute later, Adriano missed the first in a series of great chances, as his back-heel was cleared off the line by Simone Pavan with Amelia well beaten.
Then came a slower period of the match, before an incredible goalmouth scramble in the 26th minute saw Inter come agonizingly close to scoring. First Adriano fired a shot on the post, then two shots from Esteban Cambiasso and Aparecido Cesar had to be cleared off the line by the Livorno defence.
Replays showed that De Vezze may have touched the ball with his hand during that confused move. A few minutes later, Adriano again came close to scoring as he dribbled past Amelia and fired a precise diagonal shot, which only a great clearence by Fabio Galante prevented from going in.
In the 35th minute, Inter finally found a deserved equaliser when Ibrahimovic finalised a counterattack with a shot under the crossbar from a perfect pass by Maicon.
Inter continued to attack in the final part of the first half, but there were no more chances for either side, as an entertaining first half came to an end on a 1-1 tie.
The Nerazzurri started the second half well, with Ibrahimovic dangerous on a couple of occasions around the 7th minute, but first Amelia managed to grab his shot on a cross by Cesar, and on the second occasion he was stopped by the Livorno defence as he tried to dribble his way through.
Surprisingly, Livorno took the lead again around the hour mark, when substitute Luis Jimenez made a dubious foul on Nico Pulzetti, and the referee awarded a penalty. Massimo Loviso took the spot-kick and made it 2-1 to Livorno (61').
Inter were initially shocked by this new setback, but found a way back into the game ten minutes later, when another penalty was given, this a much clearer one as Ibrahimovic was held back by substitute Rahman Rezaei. The Swede converted the penalty to make it all square again (72').
However, Inter's rotten luck this afternoon continued when Maicon decided to have himself sent off as he kicked out at Bogdani in the 81st minute. But that was not all: a minute later, Ibrahimovic had the ball in the net, but due to a very narrow offside position the goal was called off.
In the final minutes, with Inter reduced to ten men, there was still time for Livorno to make themselves dangerous, but twice the excellent Julio Cesar was alert on shots by Bogdani.
Ultimately though, neither side seemed likely to win it in the final minutes, and the 2-2 draw reflects the way this game went. It's a disappointing result for Inter, who were hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Fenerbahce in the Champions League, but had a wrong approach to the match once again. Meanwhile Livorno, who had started the season with two big defeats, will be overjoyed at this draw against the champions.
Inter remain second with 8 points, but they are joined by Fiorentina and Atalanta, while leaders Roma are two points ahead with 10 points. Livorno obtain their second consecutive draw.
Danilo Pochini
MATCH STATS
LIVORNO-INTER 2-2
GOALSCORERS: 1' De Vezze (L), 35', 71' Ibrahimovic (I), 61' Loviso (L)
LIVORNO (3-5-2): Amelia; Knezevic, Pavan (71' Rezaei), Galante; Balleri (68' Grandoni), Pulzetti, Loviso, De Vezze (54' E. Filippini), Pasquale; Bogdani, Diamanti. In panchina: De Lucia, Alvarez, Tavano, Tristan. All.: Orsi
INTER (4-4-2): Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Burdisso, Maxwell (55' Jimenez); J. Zanetti, Stankovic, Cambiasso, Cesar; Ibrahimovic, Adriano (68' Cruz). In panchina: Toldo, Samuel, Dacourt, Figo, Crespo. All.: Mancini
BOOKINGS: Knezevic, Pavan, Galante, and Bogdani (L); Maxwell and Cambiasso (I)
SENDINGS OFF: 81' Maicon (I)
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