SKY TROPHY: INTER 5 AEK ATHENS 1
Friendlies: Five-Star Inter Sunday 15 August, 2004
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Inter demolished Greek giants AEK Athens 5-1 last night, while Cagliari, Chievo and Palermo also earned morale-boosting victories, but Parma nd Lazio struggle.
The Nerazzurri were simply stunning in their Trofeo Sky victory in Pisa, in which Coach Roberto Mancini fielded just six of last week’s starters against Basel.
Edgar Davids has recovered from a muscular problem and was able to start alongside Juan Sebastian Veron, Ze Maria and Dejan Stankovic.
The deadlock was broken after ten minutes when Veron’s free kick found Stankovic to volley in at the back post. Nicola Ventola wasted two good chances before Ze Maria hit his stride, setting up Marco Materazzi’s header and another Stankovic strike.
There were many changes after the break with Giorgios Karagounis and Alvaro Recoba place out wide, pushing Ze Maria into a fullback position.
Sinisa Mihajlovic made his debut and within three minutes scored with one of his trademark free kicks, although his lack of pace was evident when Soares grabbed AEK’s only goal of the game.
Ventola saw a goal disallowed and then was generous in cutting across for the unmarked Julio Cruz to net and complete the 5-1 rout.
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Good performance by the side. Stankovic grabbed a brace, Materazzi scored from a header, Miha hit a trademark FK (still don't like him though...) and other players played well. Even if it was a meaningless trophy its always nice to win convincingly. Hopefully the team can continue to prepare for the Basel match and win it with similar results