Lukaku rescues late draw for Inter at home to Gladbach

MILAN (Reuters) - Romelu Lukaku scored twice, including a 90th-minute equaliser, to give Inter Milan a 2-2 draw at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday where five shots on target produced four goals.

There was precious little excitement in the first half as Inter battled to break down Gladbach’s defence where Nico Elvedi was outstanding.

Lukaku had the best chance when his sidestep took him clear but he fired across the face of goal.

But he broke through after halftime by turning in Matteo Darmian’s scuffed shot from close range after Danilo D’Ambrosio kept the ball in play.

Gladbach, playing in the group stage for only the third time, had offered nothing in attack but were handed a lifeline by Inter midfielder Arturo Vidal who lunged at Marcus Thuram in the penalty area.

The referee initially played on but changed his mind after consulting the pitchside monitor and Bensebaini equalised from the spot.

Lautaro Martinez smacked the post with a brilliant volley from Darmian’s cross but, incredibly, Gladbach went ahead.

Florian Neuhaus split Inter’s defence with a diagonal pass and Hofmann broke clear to place his shot through Samir Handanovic’s legs although they had to wait three minutes for a VAR check before the goal was confirmed.

However, Inter had the last laugh when a corner was headed on by Alessandro Bastoni -- recovered from COVID-19 -- and Lukaku forced it into the net at the far post.