Inter run out 7 - 2 winners over Inter U23

Inter's first pre-season outing ahead of the 2025/26 campaign ended in a convincing 7-2 victory over Inter U23 at the BPER Training Centre. The in-house friendly was a useful opportunity to get minutes under the players’ belts, test patterns of play, and see a few new faces on the pitch. The match produced nine goals and plenty of positive signs, with Lautaro Martinez shining in the first half and a range of attacking experiments tried out after the restart.

The friendly quickly came to life from the start. After a chance for Carlos Augusto and a save from Sommer to thwart Mosconi, Inter U23 took the lead in the eighth minute through Spinaccè from a Cocchi assist. The First Team didn’t take long to respond: three minutes later, Kamate attempted to play the ball back but ended up putting it into his own net. Then, in the 15th minute, Lautaro and Bonny combined perfectly on a counter-attack: the Argentinian striker set up Bonny, who scored at the second attempt.

Inter U23 equalised on the half-hour mark: Dumfries tried to head a cross from Cinquegrano back to Sommer, but Mosconi pounced to make it 2-2. Inter restored their lead just two minutes later: Bonny was brought down by Re Cecconi in the box, and Asllani sent Melgrati the wrong way from the penalty spot. The first half ended with a moment of magic from Lautaro: Sucic played a pinpoint ball over the top, and the captain controlled it with poise before delicately lifting it over the goalkeeper.

The second half saw plenty of changes for both sides and a slightly more controlled pace, but there was no shortage of attacking moments. In the 50th minute, Inter scored their fifth as Francesco Pio Esposito converted a Dimarco cross. The First Team's sixth goal arrived in the 63rd minute: Luis Henrique, in space on the edge of the box, rifled the ball past Raimondi. Agbonifo and Zuberek both had opportunities to pull one back for Stefano Vecchi's side but failed to find the net. With the match drawing to a close, Hakan Calhanoglu added Inter's seventh with a low strike from distance.

INTER 7-2 INTER U23 | LIVE

Goalscorers: 8' Spinaccè (U23), 11' og. Kamate (I), 15' Bonny (I), 30' Mosconi (U23), 32' pen. Asllani (I), 41' Lautaro (I), 50' F. Esposito, 63' Luis Henrique (I), 90' Calhanoglu (I).

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Sommer (12 Di Gennaro 46'); 36 Darmian (28 Pavard 46'), 6 De Vrij (15 Acerbi 46'), 95 Bastoni (42 Palacios 46'); 2 Dumfries (11 Luis Henrique 46'), 8 Sucic (23 Barella 46'), 21 Asllani (20 Calhanoglu 46'), 22 Mkhitaryan (59 Zalewski 46'), 30 Carlos Augusto (32 Dimarco, 46'); 14 Bonny (9 Thuram 46'), 10 Lautaro (94 F. Esposito 46'). Substitutes: 40 Farronato. Head Coach: Cristian Chivu

INTER U23 (3-5-2): 1 Melgrati (12 Raimondi 46'); 24 Re Cecconi (15 Stante 46'), 19 Prestia (26 Garonetti 72'), 5 Alexiou (63 Fontanarosa 46'); 46 Cinquegrano (2 Avitabile 46' (11 Sarr 72')), 44 Berenbruch (8 Zarate 46'), 14 Bovo (9 Topalovic 46'), 10 Kamate (16 Venturini 72'), 3 Cocchi (17 Motta 46'); 30 Mosconi (45 Agbonifo 46'), 7 Spinaccè (35 Zuberek 46'). Substitutes: 22 Zamarian. Head Coach: Stefano Vecchi

Referee: Calzavara Assistants: Luciani-Galimberti

MATCH UPDATES

FULL-TIME: INTER 7-2 INTER U23 90' INTER GOAL. Calhanoglu finds the net with a right-footed strike from outside the area. 80' Raimondi does well to save a close-range attempt from Palacios. 73' Di Gennaro keeps out an effort from Agbonifo before Zuberek fires off target. 66' Thuram directs a Dimarco cross over the bar. 63' INTER GOAL. Luis Henrique rifles home from outside the box. 50' INTER GOAL. Esposito converts a Dimarco cross to make it 5-2. 46' The second half kicks off.

FIRST HALF

HALF-TIME: INTER 4-2 INTER U23 41' INTER GOAL. Sucic plays the ball over the top for Lautaro, who makes it 4-2 with a lovely dink. 39' Lautaro chests it down in the box but fails to keep his left-footed volley down. 32' INTER GOAL. Bonny is brought down by Re Cecconi in the box and Asllani steps up to convert the resulting penalty. 30' INTER U23 GOAL. Dumfries tries to head it back for Sommer, but Mosconi pounces to equalise. 24' Mkhitaryan rolls it across to Lautaro, who fires over from a good position. 15' INTER GOAL. Lautaro finds Bonny, who beats the goalkeeper at the second attempt. 11' INTER GOAL. Kamate tries to play it back but ends up putting the ball into his own net. 1-1. 8' INTER U23 GOAL. Spinaccè opens the scoring from a Cocchi assist. 7' Sommer makes a fine save to thwart Mosconi. 4' An effort from Carlos Augusto is deflected behind for a corner. 1' Today's in-house friendly between Inter and Inter U23 kicks off.