Inter Milan recover from two goals down to beat Udinese 5-3 at San Siro

Early Udinese lead at San Siro

Udinese opened the scoring in the ninth minute when James Abankwah headed home unmarked from a cross delivered by James Gomez from the right wing. Seven minutes later, Keinan Davis dispossessed Andy Diouf on the left flank and squared the ball to Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, who directed a soft touch past Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez to make it 0-2. The sudden deficit created visible frustration on the home bench, resulting in a red card for Cristian Chivu's assistant coach Aleksandar Kolarov for dissent. Inter had threatened earlier in the 14th minute, when Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye produced a double save to deny Marcus Thuram's header from a Nicolo Barella delivery. The early two-goal cushion gave Udinese early control, while Martinez faced scrutiny following earlier errors against Real Madrid.

First-half recovery

Chivu adjusted his starting lineup ahead of the weekend schedule, resting captain Lautaro Martinez, handing defender John Stones his debut from the start, and leaving Federico Dimarco on the bench. Inter missed the injured Hakan Calhanoglu in midfield but began to generate sustained attacking momentum after the 20-minute mark. Carlos Augusto initiated the comeback in the 26th minute, collecting the ball 20 meters from goal and driving a precise left-footed strike into Okoye's bottom-left corner. The equalizer arrived in the 35th minute after Pio Esposito found Thuram inside the penalty area. Thuram spotted Barella, who slipped on the turf, regained his footing, and drilled a powerful right-footed shot into the net to make it 2-2. Henrikh Mkhitaryan nearly gave Inter the lead before the interval in the 42nd minute, but Udinese's defense blocked the sequence.

Second-half attacking surge

Inter maintained pressure immediately after the restart, with Okoye denying another Mkhitaryan opportunity in the 50th minute by pushing the effort out for a corner. Stones was replaced during the second half after experiencing physical discomfort, while Dimarco entered the pitch to provide width. The lead arrived in the 57th minute when Diouf accelerated past Enzo Ebosse along the right wing and delivered a low cutback to Thuram, who steered a right-footed shot inside the far post. Ten minutes later, Curtis Jones retained possession in the penalty area and found Piotr Zielinski, who fed Esposito for a close-range finish to make it 4-2. Substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny added Inter's fifth in the 79th minute, reacting fastest to tap in the rebound after Christian Kabasele failed to clear and Okoye parried his initial strike. Udinese pulled one goal back in the 90th minute when Vakoun Bayo controlled a cross with his chest to set up Idrissa Gueye for a sliding finish past Martinez.

Standings and upcoming Roma clash

The 5-3 victory keeps Inter Milan on maximum points with four wins from their opening four Serie A fixtures. Inter shares the top of the table on 12 points with AS Roma, who recorded a victory away against Torino earlier on Monday afternoon. Como also earned an away victory by defeating Parma in Monday's other match. Following the defeat in Milan, Kosta Runjaic's Udinese remains in 13th place in the standings with four points from four rounds. Inter and AS Roma will face each other on Saturday at Stadio Olimpico in Rome in a direct contest for the top spot in the league table.