Mattia Mosconi and Matteo Lavelli: Who Are the Key Players Behind Inter’s Penalty-Shootout Victory Over Manchester City?

It was the second international friendly and the second victory for Cristian Chivu’s Inter, who—after defeating Karlsruhe 2-1 last Sunday—beat Manchester City on Saturday in Hong Kong, winning 3-1 in a penalty shootout after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time. After the Citizens, led by Enzo Maresca, took the lead with a goal by Mubama in the 14th minute, Inter equalized with a goal by Pavard in the 20th minute, but no further goals were scored between then and the final whistle.

From the penalty spot, City missed three penalties: Ait-Nouri shot over the bar, Khusanov hit the post, and Nico Gonzalez was outwitted by Provedel. Echeverri’s goal proved futile against an Inter side that—despite a mistake by Frattesi—managed to prevail thanks to goals from Piotr Zielinski, Mattia Mosconi, and Matteo Lavelli, the latter of whom proved decisive in securing the final victory.

Mosconi played the entire second half, replacing Idrissou, while Lavelli came on in the final quarter of the match, in the 67th minute, replacing Pio Esposito. These are two players who cut their teeth in the Nerazzurri youth system, played a season with the Under-23 team in Serie C, and are now ready to make the big leap, should the need arise.

Mattia Mosconi, born on March 20, 2007, is the younger of the two: raised in Grosio, in the province of Sondrio, where he first started playing soccer, he joined Inter’s youth system at just 8 years old, progressing through all the Nerazzurri youth teams. He is an agile and fast second striker, capable of making his mark in the Primavera Championship (winning one Scudetto and one Super Cup in that division in 2025) before making five appearances in Serie C and two in Serie A last year, which earned him the Italian Champion’s medal with the first team.

Matteo Lavelli, on the other hand, was born in Vimercate, in the province of Monza-Brianza, on December 8, 2006. Unlike Mosconi, he is a center forward: alongside Mosconi, he won the Primavera title and the Super Cup before making 30 appearances in Serie C with Inter’s Under-23 team. Lavelli also had the satisfaction of making it onto the podium at the end of last season’s Serie A, thanks to seven minutes of playing time in the 3-1 home win against Bologna on January 4, coming on as a substitute for Marcus Thuram.