Inter defeat Monza 4-1 to open Serie A title defense

Reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan scored three second-half goals to defeat newly promoted Monza 4-1 on Saturday and make a winning start to their title defense.

Inter took an early lead through Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, but Monza responded before halftime to leave the teams level at 1-1.

Calhanoglu opened the scoring in the sixth minute, firing a powerful effort from outside the box after receiving a pass from Andy Diouf.

Monza gradually grew into the match and equalized in the 29th minute through Gustavo Varela.

Mathis Mout played the ball to Varela with his back to goal on the edge of the area. The Monza striker turned past Manuel Akanji before firing into the bottom-left corner.

Inter dominated possession and continued to search for a second goal, but Monza held the reigning champions level until halftime.

The hosts restored their lead three minutes after the restart.

Monza goalkeeper Semuel Pizzignacco failed to deal with Federico Dimarco’s cross and parried the ball into the path of Piotr Zielinski, who finished into an empty net in the 48th minute.

Inter then took control of the match.

Diouf beat Samuele Birindelli down the right in the 55th minute before cutting the ball across the area, where Italian striker Francesco Pio Esposito produced a clever backheel finish to beat Pizzignacco and make it 3-1.

Esposito then turned provider for Inter’s fourth goal in the 63rd minute. The striker laid the ball off to Yann Bisseck, who drove into the box before firing a powerful shot that deflected off Lorenzo Lucchesi and into the net.

Inter continued to threaten in the closing stages, with Akanji heading against the post from a Dimarco corner in the 67th minute.

The hosts remained in control and came close to adding a fifth in stoppage time, but Monza cleared Dimarco’s dangerous cross.

The victory gave Inter three points from their opening Serie A fixture, while Monza began their return to the top flight with a heavy defeat.