Jovetic opens Inter account in friendly win

Stevan Jovetic marked his first start for Inter with his first goal as Roberto Mancini’s side beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in a friendly on Saturday.

The former Manchester City striker opened his Inter account after 27 minutes in Parma after good work from Assane Gnoukouri, before strike partner Mauro Icardi wrapped up the win.

Having come on as a second-half substitute last weekend against Galatasaray, Jovetic was handed a place in the first XI at the Ennio Tardini and he wasted no time in showing his new employers what he can offer.

A long-range effort after seven minutes helped Jovetic find his range and just before the half hour he perfected his accuracy with a stunning first-time strike.

Gnoukouri made good ground on the left and executed a perfect pull back to the Montenegro striker, and he made no mistake from 10 yards with a strike high into the roof of the Athletic net.

He could have doubled his tally on 35 minutes after being found by Marcelo Brozovic, but his effort was just wide from outside the penalty area.

The Liga side had offered little in the opening half, but that all changed after the break as Guillermo Fernandez and Iker Undabarrena both called Samir Handanovic into action.

Inter were quickly back in the ascendancy, though, and Icardi secured their victory with seven minutes to play.

While Gnoukouri and Andrea Ranocchia wasted late openings, Icardi made no mistake as he converted Yuto Nagatomo’s cross with a well-placed header.