Inter reel after Atalanta achieve perfection

Before Atalanta BC took on FC Internazionale Milano on Sunday, Orobici captain Cristiano Doni mused that his team "needed the perfect game to beat the Nerazzurri". Thanks to a flawless display, Atalanta's near 15-year wait for a home win against Inter has ended.

'We were perfect'
Atalanta opened the scoring through Sergio Floccari on 18 minutes and the 35-year-old Doni then struck twice in quick succession either side of the half-hour mark. Inter could only respond with a Zlatan Ibrahimović goal in added time and fell to their first Serie A defeat in 13 fixtures, allowing Juventus to close the gap to three points with a 1-1 draw against S.S. Lazio. "Yes, we were perfect today and we fully deserve the victory," said Atalanta coach Luigi Del Neri. "We managed to keep them far away from our penalty box for most of the game."

Doni pleasure
Del Neri, whose team returned to the top ten, added: "Maybe Inter did not play their best game, but our performance was great today. Inter's first place in the league is fully deserved and I'm sure they will start winning again soon but today we managed to surprise them with a great game." Doni added: "Inter probably did not approach the game with the right mentality but give us credit for being more clinical than usual. Now we have to repeat this kind of performance in away games."

Changes promised
Having ended 2008 with eight straight league wins, Inter have won only one point in two games this year having been held 1-1 at home by Cagliari Calcio last week. A visibly disappointed coach José Mourinho said: "I cannot explain that opening half-hour. We conceded ridiculous goals, made too many mistakes and paid the price. However, we have to forget that because we are still on top. This could be the moment to change something, especially in our attitude on the pitch. The logical response to such a bad performance is to change."