Inter Milan kept their hopes of winning the Club World Cup alive by coming from behind to snatch a late victory against Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle.
Ryoma Watanabe’s 11th-minute strike looked to have earned the Japanese side a shock victory, but Lautaro Martinez’s spectacular overhead kick and Valentin Carboni’s stoppage-time strike eliminated the Japanese side from the competition.
Inter – playing under Cristian Chivu for the second time after Simone Inzaghi’s departure this month – dominated the first half but paid the price for failing to track Watanabe’s run when the winger rounded off a slick counter-attack with a low finish.
Inter captain Martinez was unfortunate to see his header crash off the crossbar eight minutes later, but on the whole Inter’s finishing was poor with all nine of their attempts in the first half missing the target.
Inter ramped up the pressure in the second half with 12 shots, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s effort that missed the target with the goal gaping.
Urawa – who failed to qualify for this season’s AFC Champions League – maintained their defensive discipline while retaining a threat on the break, with Watanabe blazing over from a five-on-three situation with 20 minutes left.
They held out until the 77th minute, when Martinez produced a sublime overhead kick from a corner to drag Inter level.
With Urawa desperately hanging on, Inter substitute Carboni pounced on a rebound in the second minute of stoppage time to spark wild celebrations.
