Esposito Hailed As Inter Advance

Chivu says teen scorer dealt well with nerves, physicality in 2-0 win over River

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SEATTLE — Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu was glad to have overcome a "tough" match, as his side advanced to the last 16 of the Club World Cup on June 25, following a stormy 2-0 victory over River Plate that sealed the Argentinian club's exit.

Teenage striker Francesco Esposito and Alessandro Bastoni scored the goals to settle a physical contest which saw River finish with nine men.

The final whistle was marred by an ugly melee which saw players from both sides clash as they sprinted off the pitch, with missiles being thrown by River's fans at Seattle's Lumen Field.

"We got the job done, that's the most important thing," Chivu said afterwards.

"That game was very tough for us — in the first half, they had a lot of aggression, a lot of intensity. But in the second half, we controlled the game better and in the end won."

Earlier, the 19-year-old Esposito bagged his first goal for Serie A giants Inter with a lovely strike in the 72nd minute to put the Italian side 1-0 up.