The opening exchanges were distinctly unmemorable, with tackles aplenty but no clear sights of goal.
A low Franco Mastantuono shot saved by Yann Sommer momentarily had River Plate fans on their feet, but Inter soon found something of a rhythm, leading to two decent chances.
The first saw Gonzalo Martinez block a Francesco Pio Esposito shot at point-blank range, before Lautaro Martínez sent a promising effort wide.
Not deterred by the earlier missed chances, Esposito once again tried to lead the Nerazzurri’s charge, but when he attempted to volley in a cross from the left at the near post, Paulo Diaz put his body on the line with a block that saw him hit the turf hard.
The Italian side continued to press after the break, and saw four chances go begging in the space of a few minutes.
Martinez first broke through, but a challenge from Marcos Acuna did enough to force a misfire onto the post. Before anyone could blink, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was in on goal, but blocked by a combination of two River defenders, with Federico Dimarco firing wide on the rebound.
A point-blank save from Franco Armani then denied Martinez a few minutes later.
A double change from the River bench just after the hour mark brought a momentary surge, and they could have taken the lead themselves when Facundo Colidio met a cross from the left, only to head into the arms of Sommer with a weak effort.
River’s task then became all the harder immediately, as a break forward from Mkhitaryan ended with him being chopped down by Lucas Martinez Quarta when through on goal.
A straight red card was the only punishment possible, and now River were truly living on the edge.
The inevitable finally happened with 20 minutes to play, and Esposito struck gold – and his first-ever Inter goal – when a turnover in possession saw Mkhitaryan race beyond the River backline. The Armenian spotted his young teammate and played the ball across for him to sweep low into the far corner of the finally-beaten Armani’s net.
From there, the match was a mere procession, and Inter added a second in added time via a scintillating solo run from Alessandro Bastoni that culminated in him putting the ball under Armani to remove any remaining doubt.
There was still time for a skirmish that saw Gonzalo Montiel sent off for a second yellow card, but with Inter duly finishing top, they’ll have a very winnable Round of 16 clash with Fluminense as their first knockout hurdle.
As for River Plate, they have yet to score against a European opponent at the CWC, and will doubtless see progression from this group as a huge opportunity missed.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Inter Milan)
Check out more about the match here.
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