SOUTHAMPTON went on a tear in the second half to take down Inter Milan, 2-1, on Thursday (Friday, Manila time) in the Europa League.
Inter Milan interim coach Stefano Vecchi knew he faced a daunting task when he stepped in for the sacked Frank de Boer just two days ago.
The first half went well for the youth team coach as Mauro Icardi fired Inter in front.
There was drama in first-half stoppage time as Southampton was awarded a somewhat soft penalty when the ball hit Ivan Perisic on the elbow. Inter players protested, and Antonio Candreva was fortunate not to be sent off after elbowing Sam McQueen in the face.
Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, a spot-kick specialist, dove to his left to keep out Dusan Tadic's tame penalty attempt.
Southampton turned the match around in five second-half minutes.
A corner fell to Oriol Romeu, whose effort crashed off the crossbar, but Virgil van Dijk, who troubled Inter all match, fired in the rebound to level. Shortly after, McQueen's deflected cross bounced off Yuto Nagatomo's knee and past a hapless Handanovic.
Southampton remained second in Group K, two points behind Sparta Prague, which beat Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2-0. Inter was bottom, six points behind Sparta, with its only points coming from the home win against Southampton.
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