Inter Milan’s ambitions for Champions League football next season were boosted by a 3-1 triumph over Sampdoria in Serie A on Saturday.
A first-half volley from Danilo D’Ambrosio and strikes after the break from Miranda and Mauro Icardi enabled Roberto Mancini’s men to secure a hard-earned win at the San Siro before Sampdoria replied with a stoppage-time consolation by Fabio Quagliarella.
“It was important to win tonight. When you’re going through difficult times, you have to know when to turn things around by playing tightly and seizing all your opportunities,” said Mancini.
If Mancini felt under pressure after last week’s defeat, he probably had reason to feel even more so after the club announced Mourinho and Ronaldo would be special guests at the San Siro.
But Mancini said: “Mourinho was Inter’s coach for two years and is part of the club’s history, the same for Ronaldo. I don’t see anything wrong (with their presence).”
The results:
Serie A: Atalanta 2 (Conti 84, Pinilla 90+1) lost to Fiorentina 3 (Fernandez 67, Tello 81, Kalinic 87); Genoa 2 (Cerci 57-pen, Laxalt 70) bt Udinese 1 (Ali Adnan 33); Sassuolo 3 (Berardi 41, Defrel 48, 50) bt Empoli 2 (Zielinski 36, Maccarone 70-pen); Torino 0 drew with Carpi 0.
On Saturday: Verona 3 (Toni 29, Pazzini 57, Ionita 90+5) bt Chievo 1 (Pellissier 71-pen); Inter Milan 3 (D’Ambrosio 23, Miranda 57, Icardi 73) bt Sampdoria 1 (Quagliarella 90+2).
Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen 0 lost to Borussia Dortmund 1 (Aubameyang 64).
On Saturday: Bayern Munich 3 (Muller 49, 71, Lewandowski 84) bt Darmstadt 1 (Wagner 26); Borussia Monchengladbach 1 (Dahoud 9) bt Cologne 0; Hertha Berlin 1 (Kalou 60) drew with Wolfsburg 1 (Schaefer 53); Hoffenheim 3 (Amiri 13, Uth 68, 76) bt Mainz 2 (Cordoba 11, Jairo 78); Ingolstadt 2 (Huebner 12, Hintersser 90-pen) bt Werder Bremen 0.
La Liga: Rayo Vallecano 2 (Manucho 43, Miku 62) drew with Sevilla 2 (N’Zonzi 10, Iborra 20).
On Saturday: Las Palmas 1 (William Jose 10) lost to Barcelona 2 (Suarez 6, Neymar 39); Espanyol 1 (Asensio 52) bt Deportivo la Coruna 0; Real Betis 1 (Pezzella 67) drew with Sporting Gijon 1 (Castro 65); Celta Vigo 3 (Guidetti 30, 69, Jonny 39) bt Eibar 2 (Saul Berjon 84-pen, Inui 87).
FA Cup:Fifth round: Blackburn 1 (Marshall 20) West Ham 5 (Moses 26, Payet 36, 90+2, Emenike 64, 85).
On Saturday: Bournemouth 0 Everton 2 (Barkley 55, Lukaku 76); Reading 3 (McShane 59, Hector 72, Piazon 90+4) bt West Brom 1 (Fletcher 54); Watford 1 (Wootton 53-og) bt Leeds 0.
