Udinese landed the first punch on 9 minutes when James Abankwah headed in Unai Gómez’s corner delivery at the near post. The shock doubled at 16 minutes as Jürgen Ekkelenkamp finished a move assisted by Keinan Davis for 0-2. Inter needed a spark and got it on 26 minutes, Carlos Augusto squeezing a left-footed effort inside the far corner. The equaliser arrived on 35 minutes, Nicolò Barella guiding home after a neat feed from Marcus Thuram to make it 2-2 at the break.

Inter’s second-half surge flipped the match. Thuram put the hosts in front on 57 minutes with a composed right-footed finish from Andy Diouf’s pass. Francesco Pio Esposito then stretched it to 4-2 on 67 minutes, finishing from Piotr Zieliński’s assist. Substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny added a fifth on 79 minutes, converting after his initial effort was saved. Udinese’s Idrissa Gueye pulled one back at 90 minutes, set up by Vakoun Issouf Bayo, but there was no late twist.

The numbers that shaped 5-3

Inter’s attack kept firing all night: 27 shots to 6, with 12 on target to Udinese’s 5. Expected goals told a similar story at 3.11 to 0.90, and expected goals on target finished 5.72 to 2.12. Big chances were 8 to 3 in Inter’s favour, although the hosts also missed five of those. Inter hit the woodwork once and piled up 11 blocked attempts, a sign of sustained pressure in the box.

Udinese stayed in it thanks to Maduka Okoye, who produced 7 saves and posted +0.72 goals prevented. At the other end, Josep Martínez had 2 saves with -0.88 goals prevented. Inter’s corner barrage read 10 to 1, which helped tilt territory and momentum. Inside the area, Inter logged 49 touches to 15, turning volume into real threat. On Sofascore, those figures paint a clear picture of why five goals felt like a fair return.

Control, passing and territory

Possession finished 66% to 34% for Inter, who also out-passed Udinese 640 to 330 with 594 accurate to 272. Final-third entries were decisive at 60 to 29, and Inter’s final-third completion was 85% (142/167) compared to 66% (31/47) for the visitors. Inter also enjoyed the aerial battle, winning 13 of 17 headers (76%) while Udinese went 4 of 17. Overall duel share still leaned Inter 54% to 46%, a platform for a steady wave of attacks.

Udinese actually made more tackles, 11 to 7, and won a strong 73% of them, but could not stop Inter’s sequences once the ball reached the danger zones. Inter interceptions and recoveries also helped reset pressure at 11 to 7 and 40 to 31. Cross accuracy sat at 6 of 21 (29%) for Inter and 4 of 9 (44%) for Udinese, while long balls were sharper from Inter too at 27 of 39 (69%). With fouls level at 9 apiece, the difference came from territory, tempo and repeat entries.

MVP: Marcus Thuram

Marcus Thuram earned match MVP with a Sofascore Rating of 8.6 and a performance that swung the contest. He scored Inter’s go-ahead goal on 57 minutes and assisted Barella’s first-half equaliser. Thuram led the front line with 4 shots, 3 on target, and delivered 3 key passes in just 70 minutes of action. His xG of 0.67 and xGOT of 1.92 backed up the eye test, as he found dangerous positions and hit clean strikes.

Beyond the goal and assist, Thuram’s duel work was notable, winning 7 contests and 2 aerials, plus a successful tackle when Inter pressed back possession. It was the full centre-forward package: runs behind, link play, and the decisive finish at a key moment. Brief nods are due to high-rated teammates: Barella also posted an 8.6 with a goal and 6 key passes, and Carlos Augusto scored with an 8.1. For Udinese, Okoye’s 8.6 reflected a strong shot-stopping night in a tough environment.