MILAN, Italy, September 15, 2026: Inter Milan have now spent two consecutive Serie A home matches staring at a two-goal deficit.
They have won both of them.
Udinese scored twice inside the opening 16 minutes at San Siro on Monday, briefly threatening to end the champions’ perfect start before Inter answered with five goals of their own and completed a remarkable 5-3 victory.
James Abankwah and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp stunned San Siro. Carlos Augusto and Nicolò Barella erased the damage before halftime. Marcus Thuram completed the comeback after the break before Francesco Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny turned recovery into separation.
Story at a glance
Inter vs Udinese 5-3: How Did Inter Come Back From 2-0 Down?
Udinese needed only nine minutes to expose Inter’s first problem.
Why Are Inter So Dangerous When They Fall Behind?
The obvious explanation is attacking quality.
Why Have Inter Gone 2-0 Down in Consecutive Serie A Games?
This is the uncomfortable part of Inter’s perfect start.
What Went Wrong for Udinese Against Inter?
Udinese’s frustration will come from knowing the original plan worked.
Where Are Inter in the Serie A Table After Beating Udinese?
Inter have 12 points from four matches.
Idrissa Gueye’s stoppage-time goal made the final score slightly less punishing for Udinese.
For Inter, however, the larger story extends beyond eight goals.
Only nine days earlier, Cristian Chivu’s side had fallen 2-0 behind against Napoli at the same stadium before recovering to win 3-2. That comeback formed the central story of The Sports Encounter’s Serie A Matchday 3 analysis.
Against Udinese, Inter did it again.
That resilience is becoming one of the defining features of their title defense. So is the worrying habit that keeps making such resilience necessary.
Inter vs Udinese 5-3: How Did Inter Come Back From 2-0 Down?
Udinese needed only nine minutes to expose Inter’s first problem.
Unai Gómez delivered from the right and Abankwah arrived unmarked to head past Josep Martínez.
Seven minutes later, the visitors struck again.
Keinan Davis supplied Ekkelenkamp, whose close-range finish made it 2-0 after only 16 minutes.
For a team that had entered the night with three league wins from three, Inter suddenly looked vulnerable at home against an opponent carrying only four points into Matchday 4.
The response began through Carlos Augusto in the 26th minute. His powerful strike from outside the area beat Maduka Okoye and changed the emotional direction of the game.
Barella equalized nine minutes later after Thuram’s layoff.
From 0-2 after 16 minutes to 2-2 after 35.
Inter had not simply recovered the score. They had taken control of the match.
The second half made that control decisive.
| Minute | Scorer | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9′ | James Abankwah | Udinese | 0-1 |
| 16′ | Jurgen Ekkelenkamp | Udinese | 0-2 |
| 26′ | Carlos Augusto | Inter | 1-2 |
| 35′ | Nicolò Barella | Inter | 2-2 |
| 57′ | Marcus Thuram | Inter | 3-2 |
| 67′ | Francesco Pio Esposito | Inter | 4-2 |
| 79′ | Ange-Yoan Bonny | Inter | 5-2 |
| 90+1′ | Idrissa Gueye | Udinese | 5-3 |
The complete scoring sequence is confirmed in Udinese’s official match report.
Why Are Inter So Dangerous When They Fall Behind?
The obvious explanation is attacking quality.
The more revealing answer is the number of different players capable of changing a match.
Five Inter goals came from five different scorers.
Carlos Augusto supplied power from deeper territory. Barella arrived from midfield. Thuram finished the move that finally put Inter ahead. Esposito and Bonny then turned the match into something Udinese could no longer recover.
That variety was one of the reasons Inter entered the season as favorites in our complete Serie A 2026-27 preview.
The champions lost experienced pieces during the summer, but their attacking structure still gives Chivu several routes toward goal.
Monday offered perhaps the clearest example yet.
Lautaro Martínez did not need to score. Federico Dimarco did not start. Inter still produced five goals after falling two behind.
Marcus Thuram Turned the Comeback Into a Lead
Thuram’s contribution mattered beyond his 57th-minute goal.
He had already supplied the layoff for Barella’s equalizer before Andy Diouf found him inside the area for the goal that completed the turnaround.
The French forward has become particularly valuable when matches lose their structure.
His physicality, movement and ability to attack space become more dangerous when opponents are forced to defend while retreating.
Udinese had looked organized while protecting a two-goal advantage.
Once Inter pulled level, the match became increasingly open.
That favored Thuram.
Pio Esposito and Bonny Show Why Inter’s Depth Matters
Esposito made it 4-2 in the 67th minute after a flowing Inter move opened Udinese through the middle.
Bonny added the fifth 12 minutes later, scoring from the rebound after Okoye saved his first effort.
Five different scorers represent more than an interesting statistic.
Across a season involving Serie A, Europe and domestic cup football, Chivu cannot depend on two or three attackers for every decisive moment.
The opening weekend had already demonstrated Inter’s attacking range when they beat Monza 4-1, a result covered in our Serie A opening-weekend report.
Four matches later, that depth is beginning to look like one of the champions’ most important advantages.
Why Have Inter Gone 2-0 Down in Consecutive Serie A Games?
This is the uncomfortable part of Inter’s perfect start.
Against Napoli, Matteo Politano and Rasmus Højlund scored within three second-half minutes to make it 2-0.
Against Udinese, Abankwah and Ekkelenkamp needed only 16 minutes.
Inter recovered both times.
A title contender should still be concerned by the pattern.
Six goals conceded through four league matches is hardly disastrous when accompanied by 12 points, but the manner of several of those goals deserves attention.
Chivu’s team can commit numbers forward aggressively. When the first line of pressure is bypassed, defenders can suddenly be required to handle attackers with less midfield protection than they would prefer.
Udinese exploited those early spaces efficiently.
Napoli did something similar after halftime the previous week.
The champions’ response has been excellent. Their preventative work has been less convincing.
That tension was already part of our preseason question over whether anyone could stop Inter during a season of transition.
Four victories from four strengthen Inter’s title credentials.
The defensive warning has not disappeared with the points.
What Went Wrong for Udinese Against Inter?
Udinese’s frustration will come from knowing the original plan worked.
They led 2-0 at San Siro.
Abankwah had attacked an obvious gap for the opener. Ekkelenkamp punished Inter again seven minutes later. Okoye then produced an important save from Thuram.
The match was moving exactly where Kosta Runjaić wanted it.
Everything changed once Carlos Augusto scored.
Udinese gradually lost the ability to slow Inter’s attacks. Barella began finding space around the penalty area, Thuram became increasingly influential and the visitors spent more time defending close to their own goal.
They had experienced something painfully similar only a week earlier.
Udinese led Lazio before late goals from Davide Frattesi and Albert Guðmundsson turned that advantage into a 2-1 defeat, which we examined in our Udinese vs Lazio analysis.
Two consecutive defeats therefore share a difficult characteristic.
Udinese were ahead in both.
Against Lazio, they surrendered the lead late.
Against Inter, they lost it before halftime and then watched the champions accelerate away.
Where Are Inter in the Serie A Table After Beating Udinese?
Inter have 12 points from four matches.
Roma have exactly the same record.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side maintained their perfect start by beating Torino 2-0 on Monday, with Donyell Malen scoring again before Niccolò Pisilli sealed the result in stoppage time.
The opening month has therefore produced the direct title confrontation the league could have hoped for.
Inter: four games, four wins.
Roma: four games, four wins.
They meet next.
Roma’s rise has been building since August. Malen scored twice when Gasperini’s side demolished Lecce 4-0, a performance we analyzed in Roma’s early Serie A warning to Inter and the rest of the league.
The wider table had already become crowded before Monday. Lazio moved to 10 points after surrendering a two-goal lead against Milan, while Cagliari climbed to nine after winning at Atalanta. Those developments are covered in our Serie A Matchday 4 weekend analysis.
When Is Roma vs Inter in Serie A?
Roma host Inter at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
The match is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. local time, according to Inter’s official fixture list.
Four matches into the season would normally be too early to treat any fixture as decisive.
This one still feels unusually revealing.
Both teams will arrive with maximum points.
Roma have shown a capacity to control games early and defend advantages. Inter have repeatedly shown they can recover after losing control.
That creates a fascinating contrast.
Gasperini may look at Inter’s opening 16 minutes against Udinese and see opportunity.
Chivu will look at the remaining 74 and see exactly why his team are champions.
Can Inter Win Serie A Again in 2026-27?
Four rounds cannot answer that question.
They can strengthen the evidence.
Inter entered the campaign as defending champions and the benchmark identified in The Sports Encounter’s preseason Scudetto assessment.
Since then, they have collected every available league point.
They have won comfortably.
They have survived trouble.
They have now recovered from 2-0 down twice.
That ability to win different types of matches is one of the strongest characteristics a defending champion can possess.
There is also a warning hidden inside it.
Repeated recoveries can demonstrate character. Repeatedly needing them eventually becomes expensive.
Roma may provide the first serious test of which interpretation matters more.
Why Inter’s 5-3 Win Over Udinese Matters Beyond the Scoreline
The most impressive number from Monday is not five.
It is two.
Two consecutive Serie A games.
Two 2-0 deficits.
Two victories.
Against Napoli, Inter had to rescue a match that appeared to be slipping away.
Against Udinese, they went further and turned early embarrassment into a five-goal attack.
This is already becoming a recognizable feature of Chivu’s champions: hurting Inter does not necessarily put them under control.
The next step is making sure opponents stop hurting them so easily in the first place.
With Roma waiting at the Olimpico and matching Inter point for point, the difference between resilience and vulnerability is about to become much harder to hide.
For continuing coverage of Serie A and the global game, visit The Sports Encounter’s Soccer hub.
Continue the Serie A Story
Frequently Asked Questions About Inter vs Udinese
What was the Inter vs Udinese score?
Inter Milan beat Udinese 5-3 at San Siro in Serie A on September 14, 2026.
Who scored in Inter vs Udinese?
James Abankwah and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp gave Udinese a 2-0 lead. Carlos Augusto, Nicolò Barella, Marcus Thuram, Francesco Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny then scored for Inter before Idrissa Gueye added Udinese’s third goal in stoppage time.
How did Inter come back from 2-0 down against Udinese?
Carlos Augusto scored in the 26th minute and Barella equalized in the 35th. Thuram then put Inter ahead after halftime before Esposito and Bonny extended the lead.
Who scored Inter’s winning goal against Udinese?
Marcus Thuram scored the goal that put Inter 3-2 ahead in the 57th minute. Esposito and Bonny later added two more goals.
Where are Inter in the Serie A table?
Inter have 12 points from four matches, level with Roma at the top of Serie A after both clubs won their opening four league games.
Are Inter unbeaten in Serie A this season?
Yes. Inter have won all four of their Serie A matches at the start of the 2026-27 season.
When is Roma vs Inter?
Roma host Inter at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. local time.
Have Inter come back from 2-0 down before this season?
Yes. Inter also trailed Napoli 2-0 in their previous Serie A match before recovering to win 3-2 at San Siro.
How many goals have Inter scored against Napoli and Udinese?
Inter scored eight goals across the two comeback victories, beating Napoli 3-2 and Udinese 5-3.
Who is Inter Milan’s coach in 2026-27?
Cristian Chivu is Inter’s head coach and is leading the club’s defense of the Serie A title.
