Inter into round of 16 after beating River Plate!

Seattle will never be just another place for Francesco Pio Esposito. It will forever hold a special place in his heart and memories – the city where he first made his debut and then scored his first goal in an Inter shirt. A special, coolly-taken 72nd-minute finish that even a seasoned striker would have been proud of. It was the breakthrough in a fiercely contested match, with Inter finally breaching a stubborn and resilient River Plate side that had resisted everything thrown at them until that point. After that, there was no way back for the Argentines, who had been reduced to ten men following Martínez Quarta’s sending off in the 66th minute. Inter kept pushing and came close to a second through Mkhitaryan before Bastoni sealed the victory with a brilliant solo effort after skipping past Borja and Pezzella in style. The closing stages were tense and fiery, culminating in a red card for Montiel.

Thanks to this victory, Inter have advanced to the round of 16, where they’ll face Brazilian side Fluminense, who came second in Group F. The match will be played at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Monday 30 June at 15:00 local time (21:00 CEST).

INTER 2-0 RIVER PLATE

Goalscorer: 72' F. Esposito (I), 90+3' Bastoni (I)

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Sommer; 36 Darmian (6 De Vrij 83'), 15 Acerbi, 95 Bastoni; 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella (8 Sucic 62'), 21 Asllani, 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco (30 Carlos Augusto 62'); 94 F. Esposito (70 S. Esposito 83'), 10 Lautaro (45 Carboni 73'). Substitutes: 12 Di Gennaro, 13 J. Martinez, 40 Calligaris, 11 Luis Henrique, 42 Palacios, 48 Re Cecconi, 49 De Pieri, 52 Berenbruch, 58 Cocchi, 59 Zalewski. Head Coach: Cristian Chivu.

RIVER PLATE (4-3-3): 1 Armani; 4 Montiel, 28 Martínez Quarta, 17 Díaz, 21 Acuña; 29 Aliendro (10 Lanzini 62'), 5 Kranevitter (35 Costantini 62'), 8 Meza (26 I. Fernandez 56'); 30 Mastantuono, 9 Borja, 11 Colidio (6 Pezzella 68'). Substitutes: 25 Ledesma, 2 Gattoni, 7 Rojas, 13 Rivero, 14 Gonzalez Pirez, 16 Bustos, 18 G. Martinez, 19 Tapia, 20 Casco, 38 Subiabre, 39 Lencina. Head Coach: Marcelo Gallardo.

Booked: Montiel (R), Bastoni (I), Carlos Augusto (I), Lanzini (R), S. Esposito (I), Pezzella (R), Dumfries (I) Sent off: Martinez Quarta (R) 65' and Montiel (R) 90+5' Stoppage time: 2' - 6'

One booking away from suspension: Asllani, Barella, Lautaro (I); Acuña, Pezzella, Meza (R) Suspended: Castaño, Galoppo, E. Perez (R)

Referee: Tantashev (UZB) Assistants: Tsapenko (UZB) - Gaynullin (UZB) Fourth official: Kawana-Waugh (NZL) VAR: Al Marri (QAT) AVAR: Evans (AUS) SVAR: Guzman (NIC)