Inter Milan scored twice late in the second half to come from behind and beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in Tokyo. Vitinha gave PSG the lead early in the second half but goals from Sebastiano Esposito and Stefano Sensi in the final 10 minutes gave the Champions League runners-up the win.
Neymar was among PSG’s substitutes but did not come off the bench. The Brazilian has not played since injuring his right ankle in February and undergoing surgery the following month.
It was the final game of PSG’s visit to Japan, which has been overshadowed by the omission of superstar striker Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe was left out of the squad on the eve of PSG’s departure, casting doubt on his future at the French champions.
PSG drew 0-0 with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in their opening game in Japan, before going down 3-2 to J-League side Cerezo Osaka. They will now travel to South Korea to take on K-League side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. PSG begin the new French league campaign at home to Lorient on August 12.
They dominated the opening stages and were unlucky when Marco Asensio hit the post and watched the rebound fly straight into the arms of Inter goalkeeper Filip Stankovic. Achraf Hakimi smashed a free-kick over the bar soon after, before Hakan Calhanoglu tested PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with Inter’s first chance of the match. Vitinha went close with a shot early in the second half but he made no mistake five minutes later.
The Portuguese midfielder found himself in space on the edge of the box and let fly with a shot that gave Stankovic no chance. Substitute Esposito pulled one back when he drilled the ball past Donnarumma in the 81st minute. Sensi then completed the turnaround two minutes later, calmly slotting home at the back post after another dangerous Inter attack. Vitinha had a chance to equalise with the last action of the match but sent his free-kick high over the bar.
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