Sluggish Inter held to draw at Genoa

GENOA, Italy : Inter Milan's Serie A title defence began unconvincingly with a 2-2 draw at Genoa on Saturday as a last-gasp goal from Junior Messias secured a point for the hosts.

Alessandro Vogliacco had given Genoa the lead after 20 minutes, tapping in a rebound off the bar to give his team a shock lead.

Ten minutes later, Inter's Marcus Thuram showcased his aerial prowess by heading in a lofted cross from Niccolo Barella to level the scores.

Inter's second-half pressure paid off six minutes from time when Thuram expertly finished past Genoa keeper Pierluigi Gollini.

In the dying moments of stoppage time, however, Yann Bisseck’s header into his own hands led to Messias' penalty being saved by Yann Sommer before the Brazilian turned in the rebound.