Inter strike two late goals to sink Tottenham

Thursday, 20 September 2018 00:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MILAN (Reuters): Inter Milan staged a late smash-and-grab raid as goals by Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino secured a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League Group B opener on Tuesday.

Spurs appeared to have delivered the perfect response to their stuttering domestic form as they led through Christian Eriksen’s deflected 53rd-minute strike. Inter, who have started poorly in Serie A, were offering little threat but Icardi’s superb 86th minute volley brought the San Siro to life and Vecino’s stoppage-time header left Tottenham crestfallen at the final whistle.

The surprising late turnaround condemned Spurs to a third consecutive defeat for the first time since Mauricio Pochettino took charge in 2014.

“I’m happy with the performance but annoyed because I think the players and team deserved more,” the Argentine, who has taken Spurs into the Champions League group stages for the third successive season, said.

With group leaders Barcelona, 4-0 winners at home to PSV Eindhoven, looming for Spurs in their next Champions League fixture at Wembley Stadium, the London side’s hopes of emerging from a tough group are already in peril.

The 2010 champions Inter, on the other hand, will hope the victory acts as a spark after they picked up only four points in their opening four domestic league games and suffered a home defeat by promoted Parma at the weekend.

Inter scored four goals in each of their two previous home matches against Tottenham in Europe — the first in 2010 when Gareth Bale scored a memorable hat-trick for Spurs after halftime in a 4-3 win for the Italians.

A repeat of that free-wheeling action never really looked likely during an opening period short on clear chances.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.