Vieri draws first blood for Inter as tempers fray

Inter Milan 1 Valencia 0

But while his 14th-minute effort gives Inter the advantage going into the second leg in Spain in a fortnight, his effort was far from being the only talking point in a match which gave rise to some bad blood as both sides finished with 10 men.

Vieri headed in with aplomb after Turkish midfielder Emre Belozoglu had raced down the left flank and crossed for Hernan Crespo, whose flick on gave his strike colleague the simple task of nodding beyond keeper Santiago Canizares for only his second goal of the tournament.

Moments earlier, Canizares had done well to beat down a meaty Vieri drive as the Milanese strove to make an early mark.

But having unlocked the door to the goal, the 22-year-old Belozoglu soon found his match curtailed by a red card 12 minutes after the interval.

A Marco Materazzi foul on Ruben Baraja sparked a melee and referee Markus Merk brandished red cards at David Albelda as well as former Galatasaray man Belozoglu. Valencia reached the final in 2000 and 2001 under their former coach Hector Cuper, now in charge of a rejuvenated Inter side which has shrugged off the summer loss of Ronaldo to Real Madrid to reach this stage.

Vieri, who missed their final group win at Bayer Leverkusen, and Crespo have proved more than adequate in replacing the Brazilian’s firepower.

The Italians just squeezed the Spaniards out in the UEFA Cup quarter-final last season but Valencia were hoping their group win over English giants Arsenal would prove the launch-pad for another march to the trophy match.

Rafael Benitez’s Valencia, who had stiffened their midfield with Baraja back from suspension in place of Juan Sanchez, tried to get back on terms with burly Norwegian striker John Carew an ever-present danger, but Ivan Cordoba blocked his low effort. A crucial absence for Valencia was attacking midfielder Kily Gonzalez, who is on the sidelines with a knee injury and his creative instincts were sorely missed as the visitors had to chase the game.

A Mista header over was about the closest Valencia came in the final moments as Inter, distinctly wobbly at the back in a weekend 3-3 draw against Roma, elected to sit on the game content with their slender lead and no away goals conceded, meaning they can target a crucial away goal in the return.

INTER MILAN: Toldo, Coco, Materazzi, Cordoba, Javier Zanetti, Emre, Cristiano Zanetti, Sergio Conceicao, Di Biagio, Crespo, Vieri.

VALENCIA: Canizares, Ayala, Marchena, Carboni, Reveillere, Albelda, Baraja, Vicente, Rufete, Aimar, Carew.