Second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Cyril Thereau have handed Udinese a 2-1 comeback win over Inter Milan at the San Siro in Serie A this evening, with the visitors cancelling out a first-half goal from Mauro Icardi.
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Udinese were the first side to carve out a real opportunity and they were far too wasteful, as Thomas Heurtaux headed over the bar from the centre of the box after he was picked out by Fernandes on the flank.
Inter's Fredy Guarin thought he'd opened the scoring around the 30-minute mark, but his rasping shot from outside of the box was saved down low by a sprawling Orestis Karnezis.
The visitors looked to soak up some Inter pressure and they almost made the perfect tactical move when Allan broke away at pace, but Antonio Di Natale was wasteful with his left as he fired high and wide.
Mancini's men took the lead right on the stroke of half time when Icardi was picked out by Guarin's inch-perfect through-ball, which allowed the striker to fire low into the bottom-left corner of goal.
The away side appeared to rally early in the second period and they soon found a route back into the game when Fernandes drilled home with his left from what seemed an improbable distance.
Whatever Andrea Stramaccioni said at half time, it seemed to be having its desired effect as Udinese then took the lead in the 71st minute, with frontman Thereau finding time and space inside the box to fire in low to the keeper's left.
As Inter searched for an equaliser late on, Udinese might have grabbed another had Thereau kept his head, but he instead sent his shot straight at Samir Handanovic having been played in by the incisive Giampiero Pinzi.
Christopher Dodd
