Late Vieri penalty saves Inter blushes

An 87th-minute penalty from Christian Vieri earned Inter Milan a 2-2 draw at Brescia tonight.

An 87th-minute penalty from Christian Vieri earned Inter Milan a 2-2 draw at Brescia tonight.

Inter, who are now without a win in four games in Serie A, had to fight back from two goals down but the result will do little to ease the pressure on coach Hector Cuper.

Former European Player of the Year Roberto Baggio opened the scoring for Brescia, against his old club, in the 21st minute by tapping into an empty net after Inter keeper Francesco Toldo had made a hash of a header back from defender Jeremie Brechet.

Brescia were enjoying the better of the game, with Francelino Matuzalem twice going close and Inter causing few problems for the home side. Baggio then set up Brescia's second, four minutes after the interval, with a fine cross which was headed home by Andrea Caracciolo.

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Cuper brought on Argentine striker Julio Ricardo Cruz for compatriot Kily Gonzalez on the hour, moving Alvaro Recoba into a deeper role and the switch turned the game around.

Just two minutes after going on, Cruz began Inter's comeback with a diving header from a Recoba free kick. Then the Argentine striker was ruled to have been fouled by Brescia defender Dario Dainelli three minutes from the end, allowing Vieri to blast home the spot kick.

Cuper's future has been under discussion since a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan in the derby earlier this month and while the fightback showed spirit Inter's performance was far below that expected of title contenders.

The result leaves Inter in sixth place ahead of Sunday's games which feature AC Milan hosting Lazio at the San Siro stadium. Champions Juventus were facing Ancona later tonight.