Inter Milan prevented an upset after coming from a goal down to snatch a late victory against Urawa Red Diamonds in Saturday’s Group E FIFA Club World Cup match.
Ryoma Watanabe’s 11th-minute strike looked to have earned the Japanese side a shock victory, but Lautaro Martinez’s spectacular overhead kick and Valentin Carboni’s stoppage-time strike earned the Serie A giants their first win of the tournament.
Inter – playing under Cristian Chivu for the second time after Simone Inzaghi’s departure this month – dominated the first half but fell behind as Watanabe rounded off a slick counter-attack with a low finish.
Martinez was unfortunate to see his header crash off the crossbar eight minutes later, but on the whole Inter’s finishing was poor with all nine of their attempts in the first half missing the target.
Inter ramped up the pressure in the second half with 12 shots, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s effort that missed the target with the goal gaping.
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Urawa maintained their defensive discipline while retaining a threat on the break, with Watanabe blazing over from a five-on-three situation with 20 minutes left.
They held out until the 77th minute, when Martinez produced a sublime overhead kick from a corner to make it 1-1.
With Urawa desperately hanging on, Inter substitute Carboni pounced on a rebound in the second minute of stoppage time to spark wild celebrations.
Victory means Inter go top of Group E with four points after two games, while Urawa are bottom and have been eliminated.
Meanwhile, Inter face Argentina’s River Plate on Thursday in their final group game, with Urawa facing Mexican side Monterrey at the same time.
