Inter fell to a 2-0 loss in Wednesday evening’s pre-season friendly against Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad in Monza; both goals coming from recent signing Moussa Diaby.
The Nerazzurri were without captain Lautaro Martinez and the injured Mehdi Taremi in attack. Simone Inzaghi was able to give Marcus Thuram a run out, who was partnered by Joaquin Correa, despite reports he is not part of the first team plans heading into the 2024-25 season.
They were supported by a familiar spine featuring the likes of Yann Sommer, Alessandro Bastoni, Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella. Yann Aurel Bisseck also got his fourth consecutive start on the right-hand side of the back three.
Al-Ittihad had a few familiar faces among their squad, including former Lazio centre-back Luiz Felipe, ex-Roma midfielder Houssem Aouar, plus Diaby, Fabinho and Karim Benzema, while former Nerazzurri defender Laurent Blanc led the team out as coach.
Inter had their fair share of possession on the night and had a handful of decent scoring opportunities as well, including first-half headers from Matteo Darmian and Bisseck, but Aouar’s splitting through ball for Diaby in the final third handed the guests the lead after 24 minutes.
The Frenchman was also on hand to stab home a re-bound, despite Sommer’s initial save, when the Nerazzurri defenders were caught napping two minutes after the start of the second half.
Minor defensive errors proved to be a recurring theme for Inter, who just about grabbed a last minute equaliser against Serie B outfit Pisa in their last pre-season workout.
Inzaghi made wholesale changes with half an hour remaining, and eventually brought on an entirely new XI, introducing new goalkeeper Josep Martinez and several other first team regulars in Benjamin Pavard, Denzel Dumfries, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Carlos Augusto.
Inter have one more pre-season friendly remaining before the Serie A season kicks off, against Premier League opposition in Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London.
Full-time: Inter 0-2 Al-Ittihad
Diaby 24’, 47’.
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer (Martinez); Bisseck (Pavard), Acerbi (De Vrij), Bastoni (Fontanarosa); Darmian (Dumfries), Barellla (Mkhitaryan), Calhanoglu (Asllani), Frattesi (Berenbruch), Dimarco (Augusto); Thuram (Salcedo), Correa (Quieto).
Al-Ittihad: (4-2-3-1): Rajkovic; Al Yami; Al Mousa, Luiz Felipe, Kadesh; Al Nashri, Fabinho; Diaby, Aouar, Al-Ghamdi; Benzema.
Finisce la sfida a Monza#ForzaInter #InterAlIttihad pic.twitter.com/GszOXOB6xK
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) August 7, 2024