Inter 5-3 Udinese: Champions Turn 0-2 Into an Eight-Goal Statement
Down two goals inside 16 minutes at San Siro, Inter roared back with five unanswered to stay unbeaten and set up a summit meeting with Roma.
For 16 minutes on Monday night, San Siro watched something it had not seen in years. Udinese led the champions 0-2 — the first time Inter had conceded twice that early in a league match since October 2020, per beIN Sports. Ninety minutes later, Inter had won 5-3, were still unbeaten, and had turned a fright into the loudest result of their season.
The hole
James Abankwah headed Udinese in front from a short-corner routine on 9 minutes, and Jürgen Ekkelenkamp tapped in a second on 16, per Football Italia. Cristian Chivu's side had been sluggish in every phase — and then, almost immediately, they were not.
The response
Carlos Augusto ignited the comeback on 26 minutes with a strike from 20 yards, and Nicolò Barella levelled before the break. The decisive blow came on 57 minutes, Andy Diouf's overlapping run releasing Marcus Thuram for a sweeping finish and a 3-2 lead, per Football Italia. Francesco Pio Esposito added a fourth on 67 and Ange-Yoan Bonny a late fifth before Idrissa Gueye's stoppage-time reply for Udinese.
The numbers matched the noise: 27 shots, 12 on target and 3.11 expected goals for Inter, per beIN Sports — their fourth five-goal performance of 2026.
What it means
This was Inter's second consecutive Serie A win from 2-0 down, following their comeback against Napoli, per Football Italia. They sit right behind early leaders Roma at the top of the table — and the schedule has a sense of theatre, because the two meet next weekend, per beIN Sports.
Udinese leave with three goals at San Siro and nothing to show for them, undone by a 40-minute stretch in which Inter's attacking depth — Thuram, Esposito, Bonny, all on the scoresheet — simply overwhelmed them.