Marcus Thuram scored twice, but Inter Milan had to settle for a draw (2-2) against Genoa, just like AC Milan who miraculously came back to level with Torino in added time (2-2), Saturday August 17 in the opening match of the 2024-25 Italian Championship.
>> Italy: Inter on its way, AC Milan and Juventus to get back on track
Inter will not repeat their impressive start from last season: having won five in a row between August and September 2023, the reigning Italian champions have already squandered two points and conceded more goals (2) than in the first five matches (1) of the 2023-24 season.
The fault lies with his Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who made a blunder, well exploited by Alessandro Vogliacco, for Genoa’s opening goal in the 20th minute.
Yann Aurel Bisseck is also to blame: already not exempt from reproach for the first goal, the German defender, preferred to Benjamin Pavard, allowed Genoa to obtain a penalty for a handball in the area in added time.
Between these two goals, Marcus Thuram gave hope, then thought he had given his team victory with a double in the form of revenge after his completely failed Euro-2024.
The centre forward, who had a convincing first season in Serie A (13 league goals), first brought the two teams level with a superb header (30th).
He then put his team in front eight minutes from the final whistle after taking a pass from Davide Frattesi.
Morata wakes up AC Milan
Until Genoa equalized with a two-shot penalty from Junior Massias (90+5).
“When you concede two goals, it’s hard to win, it’s all credit to Genoa who fought until the end, but I’m not satisfied,” analyzed Simone Inzaghi on the Dazn platform.
“Winning the title is difficult, retaining it is even more difficult, we still have work to do, but it’s only been a short time since all our players have been back in training,” noted the Inter coach, referring to the internationals who participated this summer in the Euro and the Copa America.
A distant runner-up to Inter last season, AC Milan changed coach this summer and made major changes to its squad.
But Paulo Fonseca’s debut on the bench at San Siro from Lille has long looked like a nightmare.
Torino led 2-0 on an own goal from Malick Thiaw (30th) and a header from Duvan Zapata (68th), very alone in front of Mike Maignan.
But reinvigorated by the entry into play at the hour mark of Alvaro Morata, Milan snatched a draw thanks to the captain of the 2024 European champions Spain (89th) and Noah Okafor at the end of added time (90+5).
“In the first half, we didn’t manage to put them under pressure, we were too passive (…) the players who came on brought their aggression,” Fonseca noted.
For its return to the elite after three years of absence, Parma drew with Fiorentina (1-1).
It will be necessary to wait until Monday, August 19, for Juventus Turin, which, like twelve other Serie A clubs, has changed coach, to launch its season under the direction of Thiago Motta against another promoted club, Como.
AFP/VNA/CVN
