MILAN: Inter Milan slumped to a shock 2-1 home defeat to Udinese on Sunday to lose early ground on Serie A leaders Napoli and rivals Juventus, who won 1-0 at Genoa thanks to Dusan Vlahovic.

Under new manager Cris­tian Chivu, Inter are aiming to reclaim the Scudetto but find themselves already playing catch-up in the standings, with champions Napoli on maximum points after two games alongside Juventus, AS Roma and promoted Cremonese.

“We started well but we weren’t fluid. We didn’t make the right plays and we struggled to create,” said Chivu to DAZN.

Inter won their opening game 5-0 at home to Torino but looked well off that form despite opening the scoring in the 17th minute when Dum­fries tapped in from a Marcus Thuram pass in the box.

Udinese had already looked dangerous before that and continued to threaten after going behind, equalising 12 minutes later when a Dumfries handball in the area was penalised and Keinan Davis converted from the spot.

The equaliser was no more than Udinese deserved and with Inter looking nervy, the visitors went in front five minutes before the break.

A Davis pass sent Arthur Atta driving towards the danger zone and he steered his shot from the edge of the area into the far corner.

Federico Dimarco was denied a thumping leveller shortly after half-time when Thuram was caught offside and after that the hosts huffed and puffed to little effect against Udinese’s resilient defence, even with four strikers on the pitch.

“The first thing that went against us was the penalty and we lost our heads a bit from that point on,” added Chivu. “We were better in the second half, there was more desire, determination and better quality play, but we couldn’t take advantage of the chances we had nor create any more.”

Next weekend Inter travel to face their fiercest rivals Juve, who squeezed past Genoa with Vlahovic netting for the second time in as many games after being taken off the transfer list.

Juve were struggling to break down spirited Genoa until substitute Vlahovic headed home Filip Kostic’s corner when left completely unmarked in the 73rd minute.

Vlahovic, who also netted in the opening-day victory over Parma, looked set to leave Juve in the close season, with the club eager to sell the Serbia striker rather than lose him for free when his contract runs out next year.

But for now the forward is proving vital at this early stage of the campaign.

“I thought only of coming in and doing well, about how to score,” Vlahovic told DAZN. “It’s normal that there’s talk about me. I’m happy to have helped the team. I hope to continue like this in the future. The season is long. I continue to make myself available to everyone.”

Lazio hammered sorry Verona 4-0 while Fiorentina played out a drab goalless draw at Torino in the other of the day’s early kick-offs.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025