Inter down Twente

The Argentine, who only returned from injury at the weekend, pounced after 55 minutes to arrest the European champions' woeful run of form and give his coach some much-needed breathing space.

Inter have struggled in Serie A this season - they have not won in four outings - and a 3-1 thumping by Tottenham last time out in the Champions League had led to questions being asked of Benitez.

The Spaniard was not helped in his preparations for this game by a lengthy injury list which included goalkeeper Julio Cesar, defenders Walter Samuel and Maicon, and striker Diego Milito. That Benitez was forced to name five teenagers on the bench spoke volumes about the resources left at his disposal.

Yet the XI Benitez sent out started brightly, and he will have taken encouragement from how his team started the game.

Wesley Sneijder went close to opening the scoring with a near0post volley from the lively Jonathan Biabiany's cross after just three minutes before the Dutchman, a genuine Ballon d'Or contender, struck the crossbar with a fantastic 16th-minute free-kick.

Twente could easily have been overawed by Inter's initial burst, but credit to Michel Preud'homme's men, they managed to settle and gradually worked their way back into the game, actually ending the half on top.

For all Inter's vibrant attacking play, two chances in quick succession at the other end gave Benitez cause for concern as gaping holes in the Nerazzurri's defence were revealed.

First Theo Janssen was denied by a fine save from Julio Cesar's stand-in Luca Castellazzi before Nacer Chadli broke free on the left hand side, only to ignore the unmarked Marc Janko in the middle and attempt an effort on goal himself, which went wide.

Yet despite their strong finish to the first half, Twente faded badly after the restart as Inter stepped up a gear and set up camp in the visitors' half.

Nikolay Mihaylov's goal was peppered with a succession of shots early in the second half before Cambiasso made the breakthrough. There was an element of fortune about the midfielder's goal - the ball falling kindly to him after Sneijder's free-kick had deflected off the wall - but he made no mistake with his finish, lashing past Mihaylov to the delight of the far-from-full stadium.

Inter could, and probably should, have sealed the win over the course of the remainder of the half, the ageless Javier Zanetti firing into the side netting after a wonderful solo run and Sneijder clipping wide when played through on goal.

But the best chance of the half fell Dejan Stankovic's way, who was found around the penalty spot by Zanetti's cut-back from the by-line. But the ball bobbled horribly and the Serb midfielder blazed over.

That miss, and Inter's failure to put the game beyond the vistors, could easily have proved costly as Twente enjoyed a brief resurgence late in the half, culminating in substitute Denny Landzaat striking the bar with a lovely side-footer from the edge of the box with Castellazzi rooted to the spot.

The keeper was then forced into dealing with a viciously swirling corner as Twente finished strongly, but there was to be no late drama and the Dutch side's Champions League adventure came to an end. Inter's, meanwhile, is set to continue into the New Year.