Inter needed Denzel Dumfries to scrape a late equaliser away to Monza after the Dany Mota Carvalho header, an unexpected setback for the reigning champions.
The Nerazzurri rotated the squad ahead of huge games against Manchester City and Milan, so Davide Frattesi and Kristjan Asllani got rare starts. The hosts had two points from three rounds, with Patrick Ciurria, Samuele Birindelli and Alessio Cragno injured, but it was a special game for Inter-supporting goalkeeper Stefano Turati.
See how it unfolded on the LIVEBLOG.
Federico Dimarco allowed Daniel Maldini to get away with a terrible error playing out from the back, firing wide first-time.
Dimarco then found Lautaro Martinez for a free header that was also off target, along with the Frattesi volley again from the Italian wing-back.
Marcus Thuram nodded wide from Benjamin Pavard’s cross after the restart and Kristjan Asllani had a hopeful pop from distance, but they were struggling to break Monza down.
Instead, Milan Djuric nodded a Maldini cross wide at the back stick, while Stefano Turati at full stretch pushed a knockdown away from the potential Carlos Augusto tap-in.
Just as the Nerazzurri threw everything forward, they were stunned when Armando Izzo got into an advanced role and his cross found Dany Mota Carvalho’s header. They had been so focused on marking Djuric that his teammate had managed to ghost into the box.
Inter fought back, Denzel Dumfries seeing his header from a corner fingertipped over the bar. It was the Dutchman who equalised soon after, at the back post to tap in when Carlos Augusto rolled across from the left.
The visitors were pushing for victory, even with Dimarco struggling after a muscular issue, and Frattesi turned over from inside the area. Monza also proved dangerous on the counter-attack and were furious in stoppages when the referee stopped their move to award a free kick outside the box rather than play the advantage.
Monza 1-1 Inter
Mota 81 (M), Dumfries 88 (I)
Player statistic
| 62' |  |
Denzel Dumfries | ||
| Dany Mota (Assist: Armando Izzo) |
 |
81' | ||
| Dany Mota | |
86' | ||
| 88' | |
Denzel Dumfries (Assist: Carlos Augusto) | ||
| 90+5' | |
Benjamin Pavard |
Match statistic
It was a rare treat to watch this game on BT’s TNT channel now that nearly every game has disappeared behind the onefootball ppv website where they are charging a ridiculous £5 to watch one game. In promoting onefootball on FI, don’t you realise that you’re killing your readership?