Dumfries spares Inter's blushes at Monza
Defending Serie A champion Inter Milan was knocked off the top of the table as after it was forced to come from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw with Monza.
Host Monza took the lead in the 81st minute through substitute forward Dany Mota, but the Nerazzurri would avoid a surprise defeat to its neighbour as Denzel Dumfries levelled seven minutes later.
Lautaro Martinez should have put the Scudetto holder 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 went on to take a shock lead nine minutes from time, Mota nodding home a neat lofted cross from Armando Izzo.
Inter stepped up its 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 remains unbeaten, its second draw of the campaign means it now sits one point adrift of Napoli at the summit, Antonio Conte's men rising thanks to an emphatic win over Cagliari.
Monza stays 15th with three points from four games.
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 it has made to recent campaigns.
In fact, this is the first time Inter has failed to win two of its first four matches of a Serie A season since 2020-2021, when it drew one and lost one under Conte.
The silver lining? They went on to capture the title that season.
