Inter strike two late goals to sink Tottenham

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.