Spence earns first 50 minutes for Inter in Milan friendly
England international Djed Spence made his Inter debut on Saturday, playing the first 35 minutes of the first half and an additional 15 minutes of the second as the Nerazzurri beat Serie C side Lumezzane 2‑0 in a closed‑door training‑ground friendly in Milan.
Goals and scorers
Henrikh Mkhitaryan opened the scoring in the 14th minute, and 20‑year‑old Richi Agbonifo added a second in the 62nd. The goals secured Inter's 2‑0 win over Lumezzane.
Cristian Chivu selected a relatively competitive XI, featuring Marcus Thuram, Curtis Jones, Federico Dimarco, Yann Bisseck and Djed Spence. All were either not called up by their national teams or had already returned from international duty. The starting line‑up also included Provedel (Di Gennaro); Pavard, Bisseck, C. Augusto; Spence (Agbonifo), Jones, Bovo (Kaczmarski), Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; L. Henrique and Thuram.
Dimarco, who had withdrawn from the Italy squad at the start of the September‑October break, completed the full 70‑minute friendly. His involvement suggests he is fit ahead of the league restart.
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Spence's arrival and squad availability
Spence arrived from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported €35 million transfer over the summer and has yet to feature in a competitive match for Inter. He played the first 35 minutes of the opening half and an additional 15 minutes after the break, marking his first minutes in an Inter shirt.
Inter were without a host of internationals, including Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella, Pio Esposito, Lautaro Martinez, Ange‑Yoan Bonny, Petar Sucic, Andy Diouf, Piotr Zielinski, Josep Martinez, Manuel Akanji and Aleksandar Stankovic, all still on national duty. Their absence left several regular starters on the bench for the friendly, giving younger players valuable game time.
The match took place behind closed doors at Inter’s training ground in Appiano Gentile, Milan. It was a 70‑minute encounter against the Serie C side Lumezzane, providing a controlled environment for the squad.
Inter’s next league fixture is against Parma, with a further match at San Siro scheduled for Saturday 10 October at 18:00. Dimarco is now considered recovered in time for the league restart, bolstering the Nerazzurri’s defensive options.