Ibrahimovic tallies two in Inter win

Sep 1, 2007, 20:50 GMT

Empoli, Italy - Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Inter Milan downed Empoli 2-0 on Saturday at Stadio Carlo Castellani.

After drawing with Udinese in the opening week, Inter was anxious to get in the column and did just that despite injuries to Patrick Vieira and Marco Materazzi and the suspension of keeper Julio Cesar.

Empoli was able to create openings and possibilities to score in the first half but ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline at halftime.

Lino Marzoratti sent a header wide of the net eight minutes into the game, but it was Inter who grabbed the initiative in the 14th minute.

Great work by Maicon on the right allowed the Brazilian to make room for a cross that he curled towards the back post. Ibrahimovic got a step on his defender and got on the other end of the cross and poked it past the keeper from a few yards out.

The goal did not discourage the home side and they were right back at it minutes later. Empoli was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty kick when Luca Saudati went up for a header inside the box and was pushed from behind by Inter defender Ivan Cordoba.

Later in the half, Guillermo Giacomazzi did well to find Luca Antonini inside the area with a neat chip. Antonini settled the ball and got a good look at goal, but he sent his shot wide of the far post.

Inter then nearly doubled its lead right before halftime but was denied on a fine stop by Daniele Balli. Davide Suazo smacked a shot on net from just outside the box that appeared to be headed for the right corner. However, the keeper got a hand to the ball with a nice diving effort to keep it out.

The hosts had a great chance to grab the tying goal after the restart when Sebastian Giovinco crossed into the center of the area for Antonio Busce, who drove a strong header on net. The shot had plenty of pace but was hit at keeper Francesco Toldo and he made a nice reaction stop by clearing the ball off the line with his foot.

Having given away the tying goal in stoppage time last week, Inter took no chances on this day, with Luis Figo finding Cesar at the top of the box, and the midfielder then sliding a quick pass to Ibrahimovic inside the area. The Swede was wide open and he easily thrashed a shot past the keeper to secure all three points.

On Sunday, Juventus tries to build on its impressive opening-week win with a trip to Cagliari, Parma and Atalanta both played to draws in their first contests of the season and will be looking for a win at Stadio Azzurri D'Italia while Genoa, who was thumped by AC Milan last week visits Catania Calcio. Roma comes off of a solid win against Palermo and goes for two straight victories to start the season against Siena, Torino hosts Reggina, Palermo visits Livorno, Napoli travels to an Udinese team that surprised Inter by taking a point from the San Siro and Sampdoria entertains Lazio.

In an unusual Monday fixture for Serie A, AC Milan and Fiorentina, two teams with strong wins in the opening week, hook up at the San Siro.

© 2007 The Sports Network