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The first leg of the tie was very uneventful for the first 45 minutes. CSKA was very organized defensively and Inter struggled to break them down. Inter’s best chance of the half came on Goran Pandev’s blast from 25 yards out that narrowly missed its mark.
The second half showed CSKA taking the initiative early and Pavel Mamayev almost gave them the lead with a near miss of his own from 25 yards. The tide began to turn in Inter’s favor at around the hour mark, as Esteban Cambiasso’s well-placed pass to Dejan Stankovic created an opening but Stankovic was unable to create a quality shot.
After a few more chances that Inter failed to capitalize on they finally broke through in the 65th minute as Milito put the Nerazzurri ahead with a low shot from just past the penalty area. Multiple chances for Inter to add to their lead were off target with Pandev, Wesley Sneijder, and Cambiasso all having opportunities that missed.
Inter dominated the possession and had three times as many shots on goal as CSKA did. CSKA will hope that their home field advantage will help them level the score in the second leg.
If Inter are able to leave Moscow with at least a draw on Tuesday, they will advance to the CL semifinals. This will be a major achievement for the club, who have struggled in CL competition in recent years despite their Serie A success. Coach Jose Mourinho believes his players have the mental confidence to succeed this year that may have lacked in years past.
“For sure this year we have lifted the huge mental block of playing in the Champions League. Inter have no fear of playing in the Champions League anymore and this is a result that will always stay," said Mourinho.
Inter will have Lucio and Thiago Motta returning from suspension and available for action, which should strengthen an already solid defense. While some may speculate that Mourinho might take a defensive approach to protect his 1-0 lead, he was in a similar situation against Chelsea in the last round and came out with the same, aggressive, 4-3-3 formation in the second leg to keep the pressure on the opposing teams defense.
I would expect Mourinho to do the same thing this week and play Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev up front with Wesley Sneijder playing behind them and feeding them the ball.
CSKA Moscow will look for Mamayev and Tomas Necid to find the goal they desperately need as Milos Krasic will miss the game due to suspension.
