Udinese ended Leonardo’s perfect record since taking over as Inter coach from Rafael Benitez with a 3-1 win over the Italian champions in a lively lunchtime match in Serie A yesterday.
Inter, aiming for a sixth straight win since the Brazilian’s arrival in the San Siro dugout, took the lead after quarter of an hour through Dejan Stankovic.
Udinese then stunned Inter with goals from Cristian Zapata and Antonio Di Natale to go into the break 2-1 up, with Maurizio Domizzi adding a third.
The result left Udinese treading water in eighth, although they made up ground to within one point of seventh-placed Palermo, while Inter remained fifth on 35 points, six adrift of leaders AC Milan.
A sixth win would have seen Inter climb to second and that looked on the cards when Thiago Motta pulled the ball back for Stankovic to fire past Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic in the 16th minute.
Inter, though, barely had time to savor their good fortune when the hosts were back on a level footing.
After a failed Inter clearance from a corner, the ball fell to Zapata on the edge of the box and the Colombian defender shot into the top corner of Luca Castelazzi’s net.
Four minutes later Udinese were in front and the man responsible was Serie A’s top scorer Di Natale, who took his tally to 15 with a superb free-kick that dipped over the Inter wall and out of Castelazzi’s reach.
Udinese, recording their first win over their illustrious visitors in 14 attempts, thwarted any hopes Inter may have had of leaving the Stadio Friuli with anything to show for their visit when Domizzi struck in the 69th minute.
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