CSKA Moscow 2-3 Inter

Zarate strike in closing stages clinches points in five-goal thriller.After losing to Trabzonspor in a disastrous start to their Group B campaign, Claudio Ranieri followed up his debut win against Bologna with three points in Russia. Claudio Ranieri made it two wins in two matches as Inter coach when his side defeated CSKA Moscow 3-2 in the Champions League at the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday.The new Nerazzurri tactician continued to wipe out the memory of Gian Piero Gasperini\'s short-but-disastrous tenure, which included a shock defeat against Tranzonspor on matchday one, by following up last weekend\'s 3-1 victory against Bologna by securing another three points.CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov failed to claim Ricardo Alvarez’s floated corner, leaving Lucio with an empty goal to volley into. He was, however, fortunate that his attempt, which looked to be heading wide, deflected off Sergei Ignashevich and into the unguarded netInter kept a relentless pace in the early stages, with Joel Obi forcing Gabulov into a routine save at his near post after meeting Pazzini’s searching cross with a downwards header.And it was Pazzini who fired his side into an important two-goal lead in the 23rd minute when he tapped home from close range after a superb run and cross by Yuto Nagatomo, who had expertly nutmegged Aleksei Berezutski on his way to the byline.At 2-0 up, it seemed inevitable that the Italian side would now allow their opponents to come at them and attempt to defend their advantage.The hosts took up the mantle, and Dzagoev forced a fantastic reflex save from Julio Cesar on the half-hour mark, before whipping over the resultant corner, from which Seydou Doumbia crashed a header against the outside of the post.Another Dzagoev set piece proved to be Inter’s undoing, but this time the Russia international took the direct route to goal, curling a 25-yard free-kick over the Inter wall and above the seemingly unprepared Julio Cesar in the centre of the goal.The goal arrived in the third minute of first-half stoppage time and put the cat firmly amongst the pigeons.Mauro Zarate was the Inter hero, firing his side back into the lead after Lucio and Giampaolo Pazzini\'s first-half strikes were cancelled out by goals from Alan Dzagoev and Vagner Love.Lucio, who had looked distinctly disinterested under Gasperini, picked up where he’d left off at Bologna, scoring his second goal in two games to give his side a sixth-minute lead. After a concerted period of second-half pressure, Vagner Love eventually levelled the scores in the 77th minute after waltzing inside Javier Zanetti and Lucio before rifling past Julio Cesar.But no sooner had they restored parity than they were forced behind again less than 60 seconds later when Zarate latched onto an Esteban Cambiasso pass and drilled low into the net to snatch the win.Matchday three sees the Italians travel to France to face Ligue 1 champions Lille, while CSKA Moscow welcome Trabzonspor to the Russian capital for a second consecutive home fixture. The contests are both scheduled for Tuesday, October 18.