Club Brugge produced the shock of the Champions League night on Tuesday, beating Inter 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller at San Siro as 22-year-old forward Nicolo Tresoldi scored a hat-trick to leave the Italian champions pointless after two league-phase matches.
Tresoldi Punishes Inter Again And Again
Inter started like a side determined to put their opening defeat at Real Madrid behind them. Marcus Thuram went close early and Lautaro Martinez was denied by Yann Sommer, the former Inter goalkeeper now standing in the Brugge goal on his return to San Siro, who produced a desperate save to keep out his old captain.
Brugge weathered that start and then struck first. Carlos Forbs broke clear and was brought down by Hakan Calhanoglu inside the area just before the half-hour, and Tresoldi converted the penalty to silence the home crowd. Calhanoglu twice went close to making amends, striking the woodwork and seeing a header ruled offside, before Martinez levelled shortly before the break from a move involving Thuram and Federico Dimarco.
Any thought that Inter would take control after half-time disappeared in a chaotic second half. Sommer denied Martinez again with an outstanding stop, but at the other end Inter's goalkeeper was caught out of position after the hour and Tresoldi deposited the ball into an empty net to restore Brugge's lead. Fifteen minutes from time the forward completed his hat-trick, reacting quickest to a rebound after another Forbs effort was saved, as the full report on Football Italia details.
Late Chaos Cannot Save Chivu
Inter have built a reputation this season for rescuing lost causes, and for a moment San Siro believed again. Martinez scored his second with nine minutes left to make it 3-2, and the stadium rose for one final push.
Instead Brugge landed the decisive blow. A wayward Inter pass was intercepted, Forbs sent substitute Romeo Vermant clear, and he lifted his finish over the goalkeeper in the 87th minute to restore the two-goal cushion. Ange-Yoan Bonny curled in a third Inter goal deep in stoppage time, but it was only consolation — the final whistle confirmed a famous Belgian win, as the report on Flashscore records.
The numbers frame the damage. Inter, reigning Italian champions and Serie A leaders, have now lost their first two matches of this league phase, and the defeat was their fourth in a row in European competition. Brugge, beaten at home by Aston Villa on matchday one, leave Milan with their first points of the campaign.
What It Means — The So What
For Inter, the next fixture is now close to must-win territory: Shakhtar Donetsk await, and another slip would leave Cristian Chivu's side realistically chasing the play-off places rather than the top eight in a league phase that was supposed to suit them. The bigger concern is structural — three of Brugge's goals came from Inter errors, a penalty conceded on a counter-attack and two moments of defensive confusion, and elite sides do not survive giving away goals that cheaply every week.
For Brugge, this is a result that changes the shape of their campaign. They next host Lens, who were beaten by Sporting earlier on Tuesday, knowing a win would put them firmly in the play-off picture — and on a wild night elsewhere in Europe, when Atletico were beating Manchester United in Madrid, no result announced the Belgians' ambitions louder than this one.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was not a smash-and-grab. Brugge scored four times at San Siro because they were braver, faster and cleaner in both boxes than the Italian champions, and Tresoldi's hat-trick was the performance of a striker who treated Inter's defence as an invitation. Inter's problem is no longer a slow start — two defeats, seven goals conceded and a pattern of individual errors is a European crisis, and Chivu has days, not weeks, to fix it before the league phase runs away from them.
Was this a freak night for Inter — or the first real sign their European campaign is in serious trouble? Have your say in the comments.
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Club Brugge produced the shock of the Champions League night on Tuesday, beating Inter 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller at San Siro as 22-year-old forward Nicolo Tresoldi scored a hat-trick to leave the Italian champions pointless after two league-phase matches.
Tresoldi Punishes Inter Again And Again
Inter started like a side determined to put their opening defeat at Real Madrid behind them. Marcus Thuram went close early and Lautaro Martinez was denied by Yann Sommer, the former Inter goalkeeper now standing in the Brugge goal on his return to San Siro.
Brugge weathered that start and then struck first. Carlos Forbs broke clear and was brought down by Hakan Calhanoglu inside the area just before the half-hour, and Tresoldi converted the penalty. Calhanoglu twice went close to making amends before Martinez levelled shortly before the break from a move involving Thuram and Federico Dimarco.
Any thought that Inter would take control after half-time disappeared in a chaotic second half. Sommer denied Martinez again, but at the other end Inter's goalkeeper was caught out of position after the hour and Tresoldi deposited the ball into an empty net. Fifteen minutes from time he completed his hat-trick, reacting quickest to a rebound after another Forbs effort was saved, as the full report on Football Italia details.
Late Chaos Cannot Save Chivu
Martinez scored his second with nine minutes left to make it 3-2, and San Siro rose for one final push. Instead Brugge landed the decisive blow: a wayward Inter pass was intercepted, Forbs sent substitute Romeo Vermant clear, and he lifted his finish over the goalkeeper in the 87th minute. Ange-Yoan Bonny curled in a third Inter goal deep in stoppage time, but it was only consolation, as the report on Flashscore records.
Inter, reigning Italian champions, have now lost their first two matches of this league phase. Brugge, beaten at home by Aston Villa on matchday one, leave Milan with their first points of the campaign.
What It Means — The So What
For Inter, the next fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk is now close to must-win territory, and the bigger concern is structural: three of Brugge's goals followed Inter errors, and elite sides do not survive giving away goals that cheaply. For Brugge, the next test is at home to Lens, who were beaten by Sporting earlier on Tuesday — on a wild night when Atletico were beating Manchester United in Madrid, no result announced the Belgians' ambitions louder than this one.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was not a smash-and-grab. Brugge scored four times at San Siro because they were braver, faster and cleaner in both boxes than the Italian champions, and Tresoldi's hat-trick was the performance of a striker who treated Inter's defence as an invitation. Two defeats and seven goals conceded is a European crisis for Inter, and Chivu has days, not weeks, to fix it.
Was this a freak night for Inter — or the first real sign their European campaign is in serious trouble? Have your say in the comments.
