Inter showed precious little to build on as they slipped to their first defeat of preseason against Manchester United yesterday, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Nerazzurri lost 1-0 courtesy of Mason Greenwood’s second-half strike and were ‘outclassed physically’ by the Premier League side.
Antonio Conte was forced to play without first-choice strikers and neither Samuele Longo nor Sebastiano Esposito impressed while filling the vacancy.
Inter also failed to impress when holding possession, with passing rarely fluid and those on the ball never having many options.
United will begin their league campaign 14 days before Conte’s side and Gazzetta assured the difference in preparation was very visible.
The inability to hold the ball up in attack led to irritation among some players, though, with Marcelo Brozovic and Milan Skriniar thought to be particularly frustrated.
Inter’s wing-backs were constantly pinned back by their United counterparts while Stefano Sensi was overwhelmed by Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in midfield.
Danilo D’Ambrosio provided their only shot on target of the match, when his header was cleared off the line at the beginning of the second half.
Nicolò Barella made his debut late on but the midfielder’s 17 minutes were deemed to be ‘unjudgeable’.
Inter will return to International Champions Cup action on Wednesday when they face Maurizio Sarri’s new-look Juventus side in Nanjing.
