Champions Inter were knocked off the Serie A summit on Sunday as they were forced to come from behind to play out a 1-1 draw with Monza.
Hosts Monza took the lead in the 81st minute through substitute forward Dany Mota, but the Nerazzurri would avoid a surprise defeat to their neighbours as Denzel Dumfries levelled seven minutes later.
Lautaro Martinez should have put the Scudetto holders in front inside the opening 10 minutes, when he received a perfect cross from Federico Dimarco.
His header from the centre of the box, however, sailed slightly over the crossbar before Dimarco and Davide Frattesi spurned chances of their own.
But Monza defended resolutely and they went on to take a shock lead nine minutes from time, Mota nodding home a neat lofted cross from Armando Izzo.
Inter stepped up their efforts after falling behind and defender Dumfries tapped in a low cross from Carlos Augusto with two minutes of the 90 remaining, but the Nerazzurri could not find a winner.
While Inter are still unbeaten, their second draw of the campaign means they sit one point adrift of Napoli at the summit, while Monza stay 15th with three points from four games.
Un punto a testa all’U-Power Stadium #ForzaInter #MonzaInter pic.twitter.com/0ULWDm3Se3
— Inter (@Inter) September 15, 2024
Data Debrief: Stuttering start for Nerazzurri
Inter’s start has not exactly been dismal, Simone Inzaghi’s men staying unbeaten and only slipping one point behind the pace at the top of Serie A.
However, it is in stark contrast to the starts they have made to recent campaigns.
In fact, this is the first time Inter have failed to win two of their first four matches of a Serie A season since 2020-21, when they drew one and lost one under Antonio Conte.
The silver lining? They went on to capture the title that season.
