by Renee Israel
Sunday's Serie A showdown between Inter Milan and Genoa was a 'tale of two halves,' the former being almost goalless, and the latter being goal-laden, where home team Inter Milan dispatched Genoa 5-2.
The win put Inter Milan - who are second in the Serie A Standings on 56 points - just five points behind local rivals and Serie A leaders AC Milan, which means the remainder of this season promises to be highly exhilarating.
But going back to Sunday's game, after their highly-charged 2-1 loss to Catania last week, Genoa came onto the San Siro pitch less playmakers Miguel Veloso, Antonio Floro Flores and Domenico Criscito due to suspension.
Perhaps their absence was one of the reasons why Inter's top-rated Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o almost put his team 1-0 ahead in just the ninth minute, before his superb goal was disallowed by the referee for being offside.
However, despite the loss of a few key players, Genoa were not afraid to attack, and some solid efforts from the likes of striker Rodrigo Palacio and midfielder Juraj Kucka had to be blocked by Inter Milan's formidable defense.
It was only in the 40th minute that the goalless deadlock was broken courtesy of the visitors, when Genoa right back Abdoulay Konko crossed to Palacio, who sent a scorcher beyond the reach of Inter's goalie into the bottom corner.
So 1-0 ahead in the second half, Genoa were in the pound seats. But not for long. A rejuvenated Inter Milan ran onto the pitch ready to do some damage, starting with an equalizer in the 50th minute from striker Giampaolo Pazzini.
And barely one minute later, Eto'o made it 2-1 to the delight of the mostly Inter Milan fans at San Siro, who erupted again just six minutes later when Eto'o scored his second, putting the home team 3-1 up with over 30 minutes to go.
In the 71st minute, Inter forward Goran Pandev made it 4-1, and with Genoa now firmly on the ropes, Milan sealed the deal thanks to full back Yuto Nagatomo, who scored the fifth goal - and his debut for the club - in the 84th minute.
Even though Genoa pulled back a goal in the 90th minute from centre forward Mauro Boselli to make the score 5-2, they left Stadio Giuseppe Meazza with their tales between their legs, and with no doubt of the skills of Inter Milan.
Here are the complete Serie A results from the weekend:
Lecce 1-2 AS Roma
Juventus 0-1 AC Milan
Sampdoria 2-3 Cesena
Bologna 2-2 Cagliari
Fiorentina 3-0 Catania
Inter Milan 5-2 Genoa
Napoli 0-0 Brescia
Udinese 1-0 Bari
Chievo 0-0 Parma
Lazio 2-0 Palermo
