Inter vs Villarreal 2 - 4

Inter ended their pre-season schedule at the stadio Adriatico in Pescara in front of a full house against Unai Emery's Villarreal, who proved to be a difficult and physical opponent. It was an ideal match for the Nerazzurri in preparation for their first official 2022/23 outing away at Lecce next week. Inter started off with Handanovic in goal, a back three of Skriniar, De Vrij and Bastoni; Asllani in centre-midfield, with Gosens on the left hand side; and Lautaro and Lukaku forming the front pairing.

Just as in previous games, the Nerazzurri found very high temperatures, and also some good moments ahead of next week's Serie A opener. Gosens was in the thick of the action in the first half and nearly scored in the first minute, but his shot was saved by Rulli. A few minutes later, he threatened again after a good cross by Dumfries. Inzaghi's men had several other chances but went one down through Pedraza's beautiful, if not rather unfortunate, goal. Villarreal looked to increase their lead but were pegged back by the irresistible Belgian Romelu Lukaku, who headed home after Gosens' excellent cross from the left. The match lit up but it was Villarreal who ended the half in the lead thanks to Coquelin's right foot shot.

In the second half, the scoreline and chances created both doubled. It was Emery's side who again opened the scoring with Pedraza getting their third, and his second of the match. But Inter responded well with Lautaro striking from distance only for Rulli to get behind it. After a save by Handanovic from Alex, the Villarreal defender lost out to 62nd minute substitute D’Ambrosio, replacing Skriniar, who got ahead of his man to head home his second goal in pre-season, after opening the Nerazzurri's summer friendlies scoring against Lugano. The home side picked up the pace and came close to equalising on 69 minutes with De Vrij's header just going wide. But it wasn't to be and Jackson's goal made it 4-2 on 81 minutes, sealing the result for the Spaniards. Inter's last chance came in injury time with Dimarco hitting the bar from distance after a deflection off Capoue.

INTER vs VILLARREAL 2-4

GOALSCORERS: 29' Pedraza, 36' Lukaku, 43' Coquelin, 48' Pedraza, 65' D'Ambrosio, 81' Jackson

INTER (3-5-2) 1 Handanovic; 37 Skriniar (62' D'Ambrosio), 6 De Vrij, 95 Bastoni (54' Darmian); Dumfries (62' Bellanova), 23 Barella (68' Gagliardini), 14 Asllani, 20 Calhanoglu (54' Mkhitaryan), 8 Gosens (54' Dimarco); 90 Lukaku (68' Dzeko), 10 Lautaro (68' Correa). Unused substitutes: 21 Cordaz, 24 Onana, 46 Zanotti, 47 Fontanarosa, 50 Casadei. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

VILLARREAL (4-4-2): 13 Rulli; 8 Foyth, 3 Albiol (71' Mandi), 4 Pau Torres (71' Cuenca), 24 A. Pedraza (62' Estupiñán); 19 Coquelin (62' Morales), 6 Capoue, 5 Dani Parejo, 21 Yeremy (62' Chukwueze); 17 Álex Baena (79' M. Morlanes), 18 N. Jackson. Unused substitutes: 1 Reina, 35 G. Cassaro. Coach: Unai Emery.

BOOKED: 22' Calhanoglu, 39' Jackson, 78' D'Ambrosio