Stones and Stankovic's Inter debuts

The 2026/27 Serie A season got off to the perfect start for Inter, as they secured a 4-1 victory over Monza on Matchday 1. A sold-out San Siro roared throughout, celebrating the win, welcoming the reigning Champions of Italy back and getting the chance to see the new signings who joined the club this summer.

There was a special welcome from the warm-up onwards for Ivan Provedel, Aleksandar Stankovic, John Stones, Djed Spence and Curtis Jones. Then came the action, with Calhanoglu opening the scoring before Zielinski, Esposito and Bisseck found the net in the second half to seal a dominant victory.

Towards the end of the match, two players made their Inter debuts. The first was John Stones, with the English defender coming on for Manuel Akanji, his former Manchester City teammate. Cristian Chivu embraced Stones moments before the centre-back was greeted by a huge ovation as he stepped onto the pitch for his first minutes in an Inter shirt, having already scored during pre-season in the friendly against Real Betis.

22 years after his father Dejan, Aleksandar Stankovic accomplished a lifelong dream by making his Inter debut at San Siro. It was a special moment for the No. 5, who came on for Zielinski in the 83rd minute. He found himself on the pitch at the Meazza, where he had watched his father Dejan play for so many years. Aleksandar has spent his whole career in the Nerazzurri setup, joining the academy at the age of 12 and progressing through every age group all the way to the Primavera. For his debut, he shared the pitch with Pio Esposito, his long-time teammate from the youth ranks.

Two special fans were in the stands and on the touchline at San Siro: Djed Spence and Curtis Jones watched Inter vs. Monza from the stands, getting their first taste of San Siro as Inter players. They were joined by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was suspended.