Four Goals and a Penalty Shootout: Inter Edge Monza in Pre-Season Thriller
Inter Milan continued their pre-season campaign with an action-packed clash against fellow Serie A side AC Monza, as the match ended 2-2 in regular time before the Nerazzurri sealed victory in a penalty shootout (5-3).
This was Inter’s third friendly of the summer, as Simone Inzaghi continues to fine-tune his squad ahead of the 2025/26 Serie A opener. Goals from Patrick Ciurria and Paulo Azzi kept Monza in the game, but Inter showed resilience, with an own goal by Samuele Birindelli and a finish by Francesco Esposito keeping things level after 90 minutes.
In the penalty shootout, Inter were clinical. Lautaro Martínez, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella, Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram all converted from the spot. The hero of the night was goalkeeper Juan Martínez, who saved Jacopo Sardo’s penalty to hand Inter the win.
Match Summary: AC Monza 2–2 Inter Milan (Pens: 3–5)
Goals:
1:0 – Patrick Ciurria (assist: Gianluca Caprari, 32')
1:1 – Own Goal by Samuele Birindelli (45+1')
1:2 – Francesco Esposito (assist: Matteo Darmian, 52')
2:2 – Paulo Azzi (assist: Jacopo Sardo, 89')
Penalty Shootout:
Inter scorers: Lautaro Martínez, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella, Francesco Acerbi, Marcus Thuram
Missed (Monza): Jacopo Sardo – saved by Juan Martínez
Inter Starting XI (3-5-2):
13 Juan Martínez; 36 Matteo Darmian (84' 49 Mosconi), 6 Stefan de Vrij (70' 15 Francesco Acerbi), 30 Carlos Augusto (83' 43 Cocchi); 11 Luis Henrique (70' 28 Benjamin Pavard), 8 Luka Sučić (70' 23 Nicolò Barella), 21 Kristjan Asllani (83' 45 Bovo), 22 Henrikh Mkhitaryan (83' 41 Kamate), 32 Federico Dimarco (70' 95 Alessandro Bastoni); 14 Boniface (70' 10 Lautaro Martínez), 94 Francesco Esposito (70' 9 Marcus Thuram)
