Inter Milan advances at Club World Cup with 2-0 win over River Plate

SEATTLE (AP) — Francesco Pio Esposito scored in the 72nd minute and Alessandro Bastoni added an insurance goal in stoppage time to lead Inter Milan to a 2-0 win over River Plate on Wednesday night and into the second round of the Club World Cup.

Esposito’s goal came just six minutes after River Plate’s Lucas Martínez Quarta was shown a red card after taking out the legs of Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a breakaway and preventing a clean shot on goal.

Just two minutes before the red card, River Plate came close to taking the lead when Manuel Lanzini found Facundo Colidio in the box with a cross, but Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer made the save.

Bastoni’s goal in front of more than 45,000 fans came on a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 93rd minute.

Inter Milan finished atop Group E with seven points, two more than Monterrey, which finished second in the group following a 4-0 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday night. River Plate finished in third with four points and Urawa Red Diamonds finished in last, going 0-3.

Key Moment

Esposito, a 19-year-old striker, notched his first career goal for Inter Milan after assisting on the squad’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory against Urawa Red Diamonds on Saturday.

Takeaways

Inter Milan plays Fluminense — one of four Brazilian clubs to advance to the round of 16 — on Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Monterrey plays Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday 1 at Atlanta.

What They Said

“Well, it was a very intense game. Very well balanced, especially in the half time, but then we were playing better. For sure it was a great team, great fans and I respect all of them,” Esposito through a translator.

“I’m happy because he played a great game and joined a very difficult and real game and was up to the challenge,” Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu said through a translator.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer