Inter Milan made a winning return to the UEFA Champions League after they came from behind in their Group B opener at the San Siro on Tuesday.
Inter Milan settled down quickly on their own patch and enjoyed numerous promising spells in the first half, although Tottenham created the better chances.
Nainggolan had the first two sniffs at goal early on, with the midfielder lashing a wild shot high and wide from 20 yards out on the right from an eighth-minute corner, before his side-footed volley ballooned into the air from Milan Skriniar’s cross on the right.
The visitors threatened just two minutes later as Eriksen’s curling free-kick from 30 yards out was pushed away at the left post by Samir Handanovic, while Inter were soon asking questions when a 14th-minute corner dropped at the feet of Vecino, who fired over with a left-footed shot on the turn.
A dangerous free-kick from Eriksen was met by Davinson Sanchez at the back post on the half-hour mark, but the defender failed to make clean contact with his towering header and Handanovic gathered with ease.
Spurs weren’t looking completely comfortable with playing out from the back and a mistake on 34 minutes led to an opening for Marcelo Brozovic, who picked up a loose ball on the right before dragging his shot wide of the far post from 17 yards out.
Harry Kane passed up a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock three minutes later when he latched onto Eriksen’s pin-point pass over the top and rounded Handanovic, but bundled the ball out of play in an attempt to cut back onto his right foot.
Kane was denied by smart work from Handanovic on 42 minutes as the keeper got down to his right to prevent Serge Aurier’s cutback from reaching the England star.
The north Londoners made their next chance count, though. Eriksen escaped his marker and drove towards goal before seeing his low strike parried by Handanovic, who could only get fingertips to the rebound from the Dane, which took a telling deflection off Miranda on its way into the back of the net on 53 minutes.
Handanovic had his heart in his throat three minutes later when Erik Lamela’s effort from 20 yards out was deflected wide of the left post by Stefan de Vrij.
Michel Vorm was called into action for the first time on 57 minutes as he got down sharply to save Ivan Perisic’s header back across goal from Matteo Politano’s cross on the right, while Handanovic comfortably claimed Son Heung-Min’s bouncing volley from range two minutes later and then stopped Lamela’s low strike with his legs.
The Nerazzurri gained the ascendancy in the closing stages as they put Spurs under increasing pressure, and after Antonio Candreva blazed over at the near post from 12 yards out on the right in the 81st minute, Icardi levelled matters with a stunning first-time volley from 20 yards out after connecting with Kwadwo Asamoah’s cross on the left.
They completed the comeback in stoppage time when a deep corner from the right was sent back into the danger zone by De Vrij and Vecino steered a header across Vorm to his right to snatch victory.
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