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LEGA CALCIO: Champions Inter held by Sampdoria

Palermo’s Edison Cavani, center, struggles for the ball with Andrea Coda, left, and Gokhan Inler of Udinese during their Italian Serie A match at the Friuli Stadium in Udine, Italy, on Saturday. PHOTO: EPA

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was left frustrated in his first Serie A match in charge of Inter, as the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Sampdoria.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave the visitors a first half lead, but Samp fought back after the break to earn a point through Gennaro Delvecchio.

Mourinho would not have been happy that his team surrendered a lead, but the differing aspirations of the two sides were apparent after the final whistle as Inter trudged off the pitch while Sampdoria celebrated as if they had won silverware. The Portuguese coach did not seem too upset after the game, though.

“The result was fair because we weren’t able to close out the match, but a draw at a difficult ground is not a big drama,” he told Sky Sports.

Mourinho sprung a surprise by picking Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso at center-back, while he opted for his favored three-pronged attack, with Swede Ibrahimovic flanked by Brazilian Alessandro Mancini and Portuguese veteran Luis Figo.

Udinese’s Antonio Di Natale, left, vies for the ball with Palermo’s Giulio Migliaccio, center, during their Italian Serie A match at the Friuli Stadium in Udine, Italy, on Saturday. PHOTO: EPA

Mourinho still wants to add Ricardo Quaresma to his squad to play on the wing, but admitted that may not happen now.

“I expressed my [transfer] desires several months ago, but, with respect to the club, if the decision to not bring them is taken it will come from the president [Massimo Moratti],” Mourinho said.

Samp’s wild boy of Italian soccer Antonio Cassano had the first effort on goal on six minutes, but he failed to hit the target. Inter gradually took control of the match and opened the scoring in controversial fashion on 33 minutes. Ibrahimovic ran onto a flick from Mancini and took the ball down on his chest before scuffing a left-footed shot in off the post, but television replays showed that he controlled the ball with his arm.

Despite the first half lead, Mourinho did not look impressed and often cut an impassive figure on the touchline. However, he was soon irked after the break following some sustained Sampdoria pressure as the home side equalized.

Substitute Marco Padalino crossed from the right for Daniele Franceschini who failed to make proper contact with a stooped header under pressure from Maicon, but the ball fell kindly to Delvecchio who prodded home on 68 minutes.

In the day’s other game, an Antonio Di Natale inspired Udinese got off to a fine start with a 3-1 victory over Palermo.

The Italy forward was in scintillating form and the Sicilians found him unstoppable in the first period. He opened the scoring on nine minutes after cutting in from the left and shooting past goalkeeper Marco Amelia. His second effort on 34 minutes was sublime, as the nippy winger scored with a sumptuous chip over Amelia.

Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano briefly gave Palermo hope of salvaging something from the match when he bundled the ball home with 20 minutes left, but Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler restored the two-goal advantage a minute later.

It was a great start for Udinese, considered dark horses for the title.
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