Inter mark Champions League return with Tottenham win
MILAN: Time was winding down and Inter Milan were headed toward defeat in their first Champions League match in six years. Then everything changed in just six minutes.
Mauro Icardi sent the crowd of 64,123 into a frenzy when the Inter captain volleyed in a stunning equaliser against Tottenham with four minutes remaining, and the noise in San Siro grew even louder when Matias Vecino headed in the winner in injury time.
That completed a 2-1 comeback win for the Italian club, a fitting way to mark their return to Europe’s top club competition. Especially since it was Vecino’s late goal in the final Serie A match of last season that made sure Inter qualified for the Champions League in the first place.
“Maybe it was destiny that the ball fell to me but I think the team showed a lot of character to believe right until the end and turn the match around against such a good team as Tottenham,” Vecino said.
Inter will be hoping to use the result as a launching pad after just one win in their four opening Serie A matches.
“We play for ourselves, to get important results, to win matches,” Vecino added. “We know there will always be criticism but we have to take the positive things and be our own critics.
“It’s true that it’s been a few matches that when we’ve gone behind we haven’t managed to come back. Today we did it, it didn’t seem possible but what’s important is to believe in ourselves right until the end.”
For Tottenham, it was the team’s third straight 2-1 loss in all competitions.
“There is a bad feeling in the dressing room, because we lost,” Spurs midfielder Erik Lamela said.
“The only way to recover from this is to put in everything on the pitch and to get back to winning ways.
“We haven’t lost confidence. We believe in each other and the team, that’s why we always fight until the end of the season. Inside the dressing room we believe and it is time for us to win again.”
Tottenham took the lead somewhat against the run of play in the 53rd minute.
Christian Eriksen’s initial shot was parried by Samir Handanovic but the Inter defence failed to clear the danger.
The ball came back to the Denmark international and his second attempt took a huge deflection off Joao Miranda and floated over Handanovic.
However, Icardi pounced four minutes from time with a powerful volley into the bottom corner from 20 yards out. That inspired Inter and they poured forward. After earlier chances to snatch the winner, a corner was nodded on to Vecino who headed in in the second minute of stoppage time.
It was Inter’s first game in the competition since 2012 and before the match the Nerazzurri fans had unfurled a huge banner with the words: “We are back.”
The same can’t be said for Harry Kane’s scoring form, as the Tottenham forward’s post-World Cup struggles continued. Kane was the top scorer at the tournament in Russia with six goals in England’s run to the semi-finals, but the 25-year-old has not found the back of the net since a 3- 0 victory over Manchester United last month.
He went closest in the 37th minute as he sprung the offside trap to meet Eriksen’s ball over the top but Handanovic forced the England forward wide and he couldn’t find the angle to shoot.