Inter Rally from Two Goals Down to Defeat Udinese, Join Roma at Serie A Summit

Inter recovered from a two-goal deficit to defeat Udinese 5-3 on Monday, preserving their perfect Serie A start alongside Roma, who secured a 2-0 victory at Torino prior to Saturday’s clash between the joint leaders. Both teams have accumulated 12 points from four matches and share the top position ahead of their meeting at the Stadio Olimpico, while Como sit third with 10 points following a 2-1 home win over Parma.

Udinese took an early lead with two goals in the opening 16 minutes, as James Abankwah headed home unmarked after nine minutes before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled the visitors’ advantage with a close-range finish seven minutes later. Inter responded through Carlos Augusto, whose long-range effort flew into the bottom corner, before Nicolò Barella equalized 10 minutes before half-time.

The champions completed their turnaround in the 59th minute when Marcus Thuram netted from inside the box after Andy Diouf’s cutback from the byline. Francesco Esposito added a fourth and Ange-Yoan Bonny made it 5-2 with 11 minutes remaining. Udinese pulled one back in stoppage time through Idrissa Gueye, but it proved no more than a consolation.

Inter had an injury scare as John Stones limped off with an apparent hamstring injury just after the hour mark. The England centre-back was making his first start after joining on a free transfer this summer.

Inter manager Cristian Chivu confirmed Stones would require a full assessment to determine the extent of the issue. “I don’t know, I haven’t had a chance to talk to him,” Chivu told Dazn. “I think he felt something on his flexor [muscle], and he will probably need to get some tests done.”

Roma extended their perfect start to four wins from four thanks to goals from Donyell Malen and Niccolò Pisilli at Torino. Malen broke the deadlock five minutes before the interval after pouncing on a misplaced pass from goalkeeper Lucas Perri that had been intercepted by Paulo Dybala. Pisilli wrapped up the win in stoppage time, firing home from an angle after Gianluca Mancini kept the ball in play near the byline.

Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini praised the understanding between Malen and Dybala. “Clearly, these are two players who are very talented individually, but they also complete each other as a pair. They combine beautifully to create goals in many games,” he told Dazn Italia.

Como followed up their winning Champions League debut against RB Leipzig with a 2-1 home victory over Parma, with Jacobo Ramón and Kaiki Bruno scoring for Cesc Fàbregas’s side. “This is an important victory for me as a coach, because I am starting to realise what team we could become,” Fàbregas said.

Meanwhile in Spain, Real Betis secured a 2-1 away win at Villarreal to move into third place in La Liga and leave their opponents in the relegation zone. Goals from Cucho Hernández and Natan helped Betis claim three points and pull level with Real Madrid, after Gerard Moreno opened the scoring for the home side.

“Right now everything’s going against us, teams are punishing us,” Moreno told Movistar. “We have to stick together and demand more of ourselves … maybe when we go behind, anxiety kicks in and it’s more difficult. It’s hard to explain [how few] points we have… we have to be a team now more than ever.”

Source link