Inter Milan came from two goals down to beat Udinese 5-3 at San Siro on Monday, extending their unbeaten start to the Serie A season into a fourth straight win.
Polish midfielder Piotr Zieliński played the match for Inter and set up Pio Esposito's goal, his first assist of the season, before he was substituted late on.
Udinese struck twice inside the first 16 minutes to stun the hosts. James Abankwah headed in from a cross by Unai Gomez in the ninth minute, and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled the lead seven minutes later, turning in a pass from Keinan Davis from close range after the ball deflected off Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez, who lost his footing as the shot came in.
Inter had won all three of their opening Serie A fixtures this season, beating Monza, Cagliari and Napoli, and went into the match against Udinese still unbeaten.
Inter fight back before half-time
Carlos Augusto pulled a goal back for Inter in the 26th minute with a powerful strike from distance that curled into the corner of the net.
Inter, managed by Cristian Chivu, kept pressing and drew level in the 35th minute through Nicolo Barella. He stumbled in the penalty area after receiving a pass from Marcus Thuram, got back to his feet, went past Udinese's Kamara and fired a low shot from a tight angle past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. The first half ended 2-2.
Second-half surge puts Inter ahead
Inter took the lead for good in the 57th minute. Barella switched play with a long cross-field pass to Andy Diouf on the wing, who drove to the byline and squared the ball for Thuram to tap in.
Ten minutes later, Inter added a fourth. Curtis Jones played the ball to Zieliński, who found Esposito with a first-time pass. The forward finished to make it 4-2, giving Zieliński his first assist of the campaign.
Substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny added a fifth in the 79th minute. After Jones lost possession in the Udinese box, Bonny raced onto the loose ball and shot at goal. Okoye saved his first effort, but Bonny slid in to convert the rebound.
Zieliński's display and the final stretch
Zieliński was withdrawn in the 82nd minute, with the score at 5-2, and replaced by Aleksandar Stanković. Beyond his assist, the Polish international completed 92 percent of his passes and had three shots, one off target and two blocked.
Udinese grabbed a late consolation in stoppage time. Idrissa Gueye beat Martinez with a sliding finish in the first minute of added time, making the final score 5-3.
Inter move up to second in Serie A
The win gave Inter a maximum haul of points from their opening four matches, moving them up to second place in the Serie A table, behind only AS Roma. Udinese sit 13th with four points.
