Paris Saint-German finished its second straight Japan tour with a 2-1 defeat to Inter Milan at Tokyo¡¯s National Stadium on Tuesday, with local fans once again missing out on seeing star Neymar in action.
After more than an hour of scoreless play, the deadlock broke in the 64th minute when Brazilian midfielder Vitinha unleashed an 18-yard rocket into the upper left corner of the goal past Inter goalkeeper Filip Stankovic.
Inter equalized in the 81st minute when 21-year-old forward Sebastiano Esposito¡¯s low shot from near the six-yard box slipped under PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnaruma.
The Champions League runner-up took the lead just two minutes later when Esposito set up Stefano Sensi, who has spent the last 18 months on loan at Sampdoria and Monza in the Serie A.
The result left PSG winless from its three-game Japan tour, following a scoreless draw with Saudi Arabia¡¯s Al Nassr and a 3-2 loss to the J. League¡¯s Cerezo Osaka ¡ª both of which took place last week at Yanmar Stadium Nagai.
¡°It was a very good match. It¡¯s incredible to lead 1-0 up to the 80th-minute only to lose, but I saw a lot of positives,¡± PSG¡¯s newly appointed manager Luis Enrique told the club¡¯s official video channel. ¡°Preseason is the best time to improve, to get to know each other as a team, to welcome the new players and test some in several positions.
¡°We¡¯ve been training for three weeks. There¡¯s a lot still to do, but I¡¯m happy.¡±
Beyond the three goals, the loudest reactions at the National Stadium were for Brazilian superstar Neymar, who has been a fan favorite in Japan since impressing with Santos at the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.
The 31-year old, who is recovering from a ligament surgery in his right ankle, drew cheers whenever he was shown on the stadium¡¯s giant monitors, but didn¡¯t take to the pitch until after the final whistle for a few minutes of sprinting exercises.
Tuesday¡¯s announced attendance of 50,139 was the third-largest of the eight international club friendlies that have taken place in Japan during the J. League¡¯s summer break, trailing two games featuring Champions League winner Manchester City ¡ª both at the National Stadium ¡ª that drew over 60,000.
Inter, which drew 1-1 with Al Nassr last Thursday, will return to Europe to continue preparing for the start of the Italian season later this month, while PSG will round out its Asian summer on Thursday with a friendly against the K-League¡¯s Jeonbuk Motors in Busan, South Korea.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.