Italian League: Inter begins title defense campaign with four-goal victory over Monza

Inter kicked off their title defense in the Italian football league by defeating their resurgent neighbors Monza 4-1 on Saturday at the San Siro stadium in the opening round.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu (6th minute), Piotr Zieliński (48th), Francesco Brio Esposito (55th), and Jan Beyer (63rd) scored for Inter, while Gustavo Falcão scored for Monza (29th).

Inter opened the scoring early with a brilliant strike, as Çalhanoğlu unleashed a rocket from outside the penalty area with his right foot into the center of the net (6th minute).

Monza equalized through Falcão, who received the ball inside the box, turned, and fired a right-footed shot from the right side that settled on the ground to the right of the home goalkeeper, Spanish international Josip Martinović (29th minute).

Inter reasserted their dominance in the second half, with Zieliński quickly restoring their lead with a right-footed shot from the edge of the box into the right corner. The opportunity arose after the ball was cleared by visiting goalkeeper Samuel Petiziano following a cross from Federico Dimarco on the left side (48th minute).

Esposito added a third for Inter in spectacular fashion, using his heel to send the ball to Petiziano’s left from inside the six-yard box, capitalizing on a cross from French winger Andy Diouf on the right side (55th minute).

Beyer scored the fourth after receiving the ball outside the penalty area, dribbling into it, and firing a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner (63rd minute).

Inter’s Romanian coach, Cristian Chivu, substituted the new English defender John Stones for his former Manchester City teammate and current Inter player, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji (75th minute).

In another match, last season’s surprise team Como drew 1-1 with hosts Udinese.

Ivory Coast international Hassan Kémar opened the scoring for the home side (29th minute), while the visitors equalized through Greek striker Anastasios Dovetas (54th minute).