The second round of group F. Shaken by the defeat in genoa Inter travel to far Russia to be hosted by Rubin, the debutants in the European elite, having in mind that last season they won the champion’s title for the first time in history. This will certainly be a special game for the club from former Soviet Union, that lost the derby in Kyev in the first round. They had the lead in the first half but the rivals blew them away in the rest of the game. On the very start Inter kept the goalless draw against Barcelona, but they deserved to lose that game. They were inferior during the whole game. Anyway, they will try to make a better impression this time, but it won’t be easy in cold Russia near Ural. Mourinho knows very well that his work will be rated through the results in the Champions League, where Italian champions didn’t shine last season.

The champions are arriving to Marassi in a derby of the round. Samp failed to keep up with the leading teams in Italy having lost in Florenze. They didn’t play bad, but have conceded some pretty naive goals while missing the chance to materialize the opportunities of their own. Cassano also didn’t have his best day which is more than enough for his team to lose. Still, this isn’t the end of the world, they don’t have time to make some studious analyses since they are to host Inter with a strong desire to remain unbeaten. Inter gave Napoli a lesson, along with the performance they gave against Milan, this has been their best show this season. Unlike the Cagliari game, they showed composure and the goals they bagged just on time helped the snatching of the big win. The striking duo, Eto-Milito, works great, Il Principe has bagged five goals so far and suspended Mourinho, who watched the game from the stands, can be very pleased.

Inter were very lucky to beat Cagliari at Sardinia last weekend. They were evidently tired from the Barcelona game but they also lacked any ideas in attack. Jose Mourinho’s side conceded an early goal but they were lucky not to concede more considering the chances the hosts had to score. Nevertheless, Mourinho made some changes and the aggressiveness produced the results with Milito again proving what a great player he was. Inter overturned the deficit in the space of five minutes and thus kept up with the leaders. Napoli were held at home by Udinese and even though they claim to have deserved the win, they could have also lost the game if the ref hadn’t wrongfully ruled out Di Natale’s goal. The team are still from the desired form, while nobody at the club is satisfied with just one point from the games against direct rivals, Palermo, Genoa and Udinese. IF the trend continues, Napoli are unlikely to enter the race for the European places.

This is simply the wrong time for Cagliari to be playing against Inter, but they don’t get to choose that. After the opening draw in Livorno, they lost first to Siena and then to Fiorentina. The alarm bells are on, they have only one point, things are not that serious just yet, but the performances they put in are simply horrid. Last year against Fiorentina they played well in defense, but made only one shot towards Frey. Hardly enough to do something more than a minimal loss. Inter are arriving to Sardinia after the draw with Barcelona. They didn’t lose the game, but Barcelona did play better and the quality gap between Italian and European clubs is still huge. Still, those worries go in the drawer for now, if they want to defend the domestic title, they simply need to win these small duels. They let two points slip through their fingers in Bari game, and they don’t have more rights for mistake. Inter are simply arriving to Sardinia o take points. this stadium caused them a lot of problems in the past, but they are now clear favorites to take all three points.

This encounter will definitely be one of the greatest games in the Champions League first round. Destiny had arranged for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s comeback to Meazza on the opening day of the Champions League and it is clear that a duel of two clubs itself will be under the shadow of the clash between Etoo and Ibra who just switched sides. This is perhaps a great chance for Jose Mourinho to see where his club stands compared to last season. Inter didn’t have the best of times last year colliding with the former European champions Manchester United and we could see at the time that Inter had been far away from the top level. The Italian champions are one year older, but will face great Barcelona with a different squad. the Catalans simply continued their last season’s path winning the European Super Cup and opening Primera with two wins. The great results will pick up their spirits and there’s no doubt that Barcelona are coming to San Siro buoyed with their excellent form. This will be their sixth ever visit to San Siro, they won two and lost two in the process. Last time they were here, couple of years ago, they brushed Milan aside.

After the opening draw with Bari, Inter just knew how to make all the critics shut up. They destroyed Milan in the local derby and thus made it clearly they won’t be giving up title contention. Mourinho didn’t like the break, but he couldn’t help it. He will not have all of his players in until Friday, South American will be arriving a little late, but considering that Parma game in due on Sunday, Mou will have them at the disposal. Inter are not allowed to make any more mistakes in this season. With Bari taking a point from Meazza, nothing but win will satisfy Inter. The returnee to the Serie A are playing above all expectations. They won an opening point in Udine, while they also managed to beat Catania at Tardini. Four points in first two games allow Parma to go in this duel without pressure, no one expects anything from them and that can exactly be their greatest chance. Guidolin denied he will be defending, we saw a lot of chances from Parma in the first 180 minutes of the season, and if they keep their scorings on the same level in Milan, they will have fine chance to stand up to the champions.

Della Madonina derby and one of the greatest local derbies in the world Inter will enter in champion’s mood and as the team with a lot more success in these duels. Still, even though many people will have their money on Inter in preseason, after the kick-off, things look a bit changed. Namely, the opening round saw Milan showing more winning in Siena and proving they are slowly entering the wanted form during Berlusconi Cup before that. Ronaldinho – Pato duel brought the points home from Toscana and the team will enter the city derby with a lot more optimism than before. Inter disappointed on the premier against Bari. Slim 1:1 against the rookies made Mourinho mad who concurred his team played bad. Still. It is his fault since he made a triple alteration to his formation during only one half. He insisted on the diamond even though Inter is without a creative playmaker. I suppose that is why they insist on bringing Sneider and Baptista so much. Suspicious penalty and a goal with nothing more than a handful of chances was not enough for reigning champs. They are announcing this derby as the chance to redeem themselves but we are not sure they will manage to do that against the buoyed rossoneri.

Season opening at Meazza, the champions should have an easy job against Bari. Inter spent the summer between the Zlatan Ibrahimovic saga and looking for signings from Chelsea, Deco and Carvalho. They sold Ibrahimovic to Barcelona , Etoo arrived and they didn’t do so bad in that trade as they signed the tandem from Genoa Milito and Mota, as well as Lucio from Bayern. Mourinho is still looking for a playmaker and he is probably working on signing Sneider, as we speak. The clubs agreed and they are waiting for the Dutch player to say yes. Bari are back to elite after eight years; they had a wild celebration and then a shock happened when Antonio Conte, former Juventus captain, who was responsible for the promotion, resigned which shocked the fans. The transfer window didn’t go well either, as they were waiting to sell the club to American owners.

Another festive game at Meazza, the celebration of defended title and saying goodbye to the season that once again showed Inter’s domination in Italy but also their inferiority in Europe. Mourinho extended his contract, Europe is still imperative and there are announcements of reinforcement so this match will be somewhat shadowed. Atalanta owe Inter, after beating them in Bergamo in the first part of the season and perhaps this will be the motivation for the hosts. Portuguese coach, at least according to some announcements will field the line -up strong enough to win. But orobici will play without pressure, and precisely that is how they surprised Juventus recently. They won’t give up without a fight.

Another match that bears no significance. Champions travel to Sardinia, they have celebrated the title against Siena and this match practically doesn’t mean a thing. Moratti has already done a good job in the transfer window; Milito and Thiago Motta arrived and the “new Ibrahimovic” Marko Arnautovic is on his way. This is certainly not all, Mourinho seeks for an experienced centre-back as well as a younger midfielder and the club will grant his wishes. However, these day there are speculations that Real are after the Portuguese coach and that he asked for a week’s time to think about it. IN other words, this means that it is hard to resist the temptation but Mou has a contract with Inter. Cagliari don’t stand a chance of getting to Europe and even if they did they don’t have the ambitions. They are in the midtable, this was a good season; excellent games after a poor start lead them out of the relegation zone and they are not asking for anything more.