Inter came from two goals down for the second Serie A match running, turning a 0-2 deficit into a 5-3 victory over Udinese at San Siro on Matchday 4.
Cristian Chivu made several changes for the Monday night fixture, resting Lautaro Martinez, Hakan Calhanoglu and Yann Bisseck after midweek Champions League exertions. John Stones was given his first start, while Federico Dimarco returned from a knee injury on the bench.
Udinese, dealing with an injury crisis of their own that kept Oumar Solet, Nicolò Zaniolo and Jakub Piotrowski sidelined, took a shock lead in the ninth minute. A short corner found Unai Gomez on the right, and his cross was met by James Abankwah, who directed a looping header back across goal and into the top corner from seven yards on his first Serie A start.
Inter struggled to find their rhythm, and Udinese doubled the advantage on 16 minutes. Keinan Davis burst down the left and rolled a low cross to the near post, where Jurgen Ekkelenkamp tapped in unmarked.
The hosts finally sparked into life midway through the first half. Carlos Augusto picked up the ball 20 yards out and whipped a left-footed drive into the far bottom corner, a carbon copy of his strike against Real Madrid three days earlier. The deficit was wiped out before half-time when Barella stumbled on a Marcus Thuram lay-off in midfield but recovered to rifle an angled drive past Maduka Okoye.
After the restart Inter completed the turnaround. Andy Diouf sprinted onto a Barella ball over the top and pulled back from the by-line for Thuram to sweep in from eight yards on 57 minutes. Pio Esposito extended the lead on 67 minutes, finishing off a flowing team move that involved Dimarco and Diouf. Ange-Yoan Bonny made it 5-1 on 79 minutes after Okoye parried his initial effort, but Idrissa Gueye pulled a late consolation back for Udinese in stoppage time.
Stones was forced off injured before the goals flowed, while assistant manager Aleksandar Kolarov was sent to the stands for dissent after a penalty appeal was waved away.
Inter now sit on 12 points from four matches, level with Roma at the top of Serie A ahead of next weekend's clash between the two leaders. It is the fourth time in 2026 that Inter have scored five or more goals in a match, a tally matched only by Bayern Munich in the top five European leagues.
Sources
https://www.inter.it/en/news/inter-udinese-serie-a-2026-27 https://football-italia.net/serie-a-inter-5-3-udinese-spectacular-comeback/ https://www.beinsports.com/en-us/soccer/serie-a/articles/inter-5-3-udinese-five-star-champions-pull-of-stunning-comeback-2026-09-14
