Milan: Inter's European campaign started with a shock 1-0 defeat to Turkish minnows Trabzonspor at San Siro.
The Turkish side had taken Fenerbahce's place in the group stages after alleged match fixing and were allowed to control possession in the opening quarter but failed to threaten.
The visitors scored with less than 15 minutes remaining through Ondrej Celutska, and held on for the win as the hosts went close but could not avoid an embarrassing home loss.
Inter made five changes from the side that lost 4-3 at Palermo on Sunday with Wesley Sneijder coming in and coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who was widely criticised for the Nerazzurri's poor defending against the Sicilian club, reverted to a four-man defence.
New signing Mauro Zarate had the game's first chance after half an hour, feeding off Joel Obi’s pass, but Zelgin Tolga was equal to the Argentine’s smart shot.
From the resulting corner Giampaolo Pazzini found himself unmarked in the six-yard box but failed to connect with a volley to the frustration of the home fans.
As Inter grew in confidence Zarate latched on to Sneijder’s through ball but was again denied by Tolga. Sensing the danger, Trabzonspor were happy to sit back and, despite a succession of free-kicks and corners, it remained level at the break.
Gasperini brought on Diego Milito and fellow Argentine Ricardo Alvarez early in the second half as Inter struggled to produce enough fluency to trouble Trabzonspor’s stubborn backline.
With 20 minutes left the ball broke at Milito’s feet but the striker, who scored six goals in Inter's 2009-10 campaign, couldn't beat Tolga and a minute later flashed a header wide from a Javier Zanetti cross.
Inter's profligacy in front of goal was punished when Esteban Cambiasso failed to clear Halin Alintop's volley against the bar. Defender Ondrej Celutska was on hand to steal possession and managed to sweep his shot past the stranded Julio Cesar to give Trabzonspor an unlikely lead.
Inter threw everything at the Turkish side in the final 15 minutes, with Coutinho coming on for Zarate. The young Brazilian came closest in the dying moments but Trabzonspor managed to hold on for the biggest win in their history.
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