Club Brugge stun Inter 4-3 as Tresoldi hat-trick deepens Champions League woes
Inter’s Champions League start was left in serious trouble after Club Brugge won a seven-goal contest 4-3 at the Giuseppe Meazza, with Nicolo Tresoldi scoring a hat-trick and Carlos Forbs repeatedly finding room to punish the home side in transition.
The defeat leaves Inter without a point from their opening two matches. Lautaro Martinez scored twice for the Nerazzurri and substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny struck deep into added time, but the hosts could not overcome a defensive performance that allowed Brugge too many direct routes through the pitch.
Inter had 53 per cent possession in a guarded opening half, yet Brugge carried the greater threat when possession changed hands. Tresoldi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 30th minute. Inter did find an answer before the break as Federico Dimarco created Martinez’s 44th-minute equaliser, but the balance of the match shifted sharply after half-time.
Forbs was central to Brugge’s attacking success, supplying Tresoldi for goals in the 63rd and 74th minutes as the forward completed his treble. Inter’s back line struggled to recover once the Belgian side broke forward, with advancing wing-backs leaving space and Hans Vanaken’s vertical passing helping Brugge play through midfield. The visitors registered five successful counter-attacks over the evening.
Martinez brought the score back to 3-2 in the 81st minute after an assist from a substitute, offering Inter a brief route back into the match. Romeo Vermant restored Brugge’s two-goal margin six minutes later, however, and Bonny’s finish in the third minute of stoppage time — set up by fellow replacement Stankovic — came too late to alter the outcome.
Inter created considerable volume, attempting 30 shots and putting 12 on target for an expected-goals total of 3.74. Martinez was the clearest finishing threat, while Marcus Thuram’s movement helped open areas for his partner but did not produce the decisive end product before his 67th-minute substitution. Dimarco was productive going forward but was taken off in the 78th minute after a demanding shift on the left.
At the other end, Inter’s goalkeeper made four saves but conceded from four of Brugge’s eight efforts on target. The defence offered little protection during the crucial second-half turnovers. One experienced central defender was booked in the 39th minute and found Tresoldi’s movement difficult to manage, while Inter’s midfield failed to close the central channels that Forbs used so effectively.
Coach Chivu had called for bravery before the match, but his changes could not repair a side that became increasingly stretched. Inter allowed Brugge 3.16 expected goals, and the repeated Forbs-Tresoldi combination exposed a lack of adjustment as the visitors turned a competitive first half into a damaging Champions League defeat.
