Djed Spence was Inter Milan’s standout performer in the Champions League win over Feyenoord at De Kuip in Rotterdam, earning UEFA’s man-of-the-match award after playing a part in both of the Nerazzurri’s early goals, la Repubblica reported.
The English full-back, signed from Tottenham late in the summer transfer window, made his first Champions League start for Inter and repeatedly tore down Feyenoord’s right flank, leaving defender Javi López with little room to operate, according to the Corriere dello Sport. Dutch television coverage of the match said Feyenoord’s players “made the figure of children on the field against adults,” as quoted by the Corriere della Sera.
Spence’s Fingerprints on Both Goals
Spence set up Yann Bisseck’s eighth-minute opener with an intelligent touch that released his teammate toward goal, the Corriere dello Sport reported. He then delivered the ball into the box that ended — after a deflection — on Pio Esposito’s head for the second goal, which the paper said “definitively froze” the Rotterdam stadium. Spence came close to scoring himself but finished without a goal, though that did not stop UEFA from naming him the match’s best player.
“I’m adapting well,” Spence said, according to the Corriere della Sera. “The team and the coach have welcomed me in the best way and are helping me a lot. We’ll need the same mentality and the same fire on Sunday against Como to win.”
A Slow Start After a Preseason Injury
The Rotterdam performance marked a turn after a difficult beginning in Milan. Spence suffered an injury during preseason and missed time at the start of the campaign, the Corriere dello Sport reported. His first appearances, including a start in the derby against AC Milan, “did not catch the eye,” the Corriere della Sera wrote, and in that derby he missed a clear chance close to Mike Maignan’s goal that could have changed the match before halftime.
His form at the 2022 World Cup with England had made him an attractive signing, but finding his best condition took longer than expected after the move from Tottenham.
How Chivu Is Using Him on the Right
Inter coach Cristian Chivu dropped his defensive block a few meters deeper against Feyenoord after Bisseck’s early goal, with tight midfield and defensive lines, and then hit Feyenoord on the counter — with Spence’s pace as the new weapon on the right, the Corriere della Sera reported. The approach produced fewer attacks but more effective ones, fewer shots but more accurate ones, and less possession and territorial presence than usual.
Spence’s speed lets Inter stretch opponents quickly when he is played into space, and his understanding with Bisseck — the two looked for each other regularly throughout the match — already looks productive, the Corriere dello Sport noted. Because he attacks the byline more naturally than Denzel Diouf, the Frenchman who plays inverted on the right, giving Chivu tactical flexibility: the pair can swap sides or even play together, since Spence has already operated on the left in the Premier League and for England.
Pressure on Chivu’s Inter in Europe
The win in Rotterdam came after Inter lost the Milan derby and after captain Marcus Thuram said the players had “told each other things to their faces,” according to the Corriere della Sera. Chivu’s side has seven defeats in 14 European matches under his management, a record that has dented the club’s Champions League reputation, the paper noted, and a place among the top eight of the league phase remains complicated.
Chivu has also been reshaping his squad in his second season, and the match in the Netherlands showed a more measured, calculated pressing approach that reduces the space behind Inter’s high defensive line.
What Comes Next for Inter and Spence
Inter’s next match is against Como on Sunday, a fixture Spence himself flagged as requiring the same mentality shown in Rotterdam. Chivu welcomed John Stones and Curtis Jones back into group training this week and could name them on the bench against Como, the Corriere della Sera reported, while Lautaro Martínez returns after the international break. With Spence’s impact in Rotterdam, the “English” core assembled in the summer transfer window should become visible after the break, the paper added.
Seven Things Few Know About Spence
Beyond the pitch, Italian media have highlighted lesser-known details of the 25-year-old’s life, la Repubblica reported. His sister is an actress who has appeared alongside Italian actor Lino Guanciale, the La Gazzetta dello Sport headline noted, and Spence has a background in taekwondo. He is also known in music circles for his association with American rapper Lil Durk.
Spence’s emergence gives Chivu a new, non-trivial solution on the right flank, one made more valuable by his complementarity with Diouf — and sets up Sunday’s trip to Como as the next test of whether the Englishman’s Rotterdam form can become the norm.
/data/photo/2026/10/28/6ae1fc91b9554.jpeg)