Ten-man Inter crashed out of the Europa League after letting a two-goal lead slip as Hapoel Be'er Sheva roared back in the second half to win 3-2 on Thursday.
Although Inter's 2-2 derby draw against AC Milan in Stefano Pioli's first match as coach on Sunday gave fans reason for optimism, in the end there were few positives to come from their trip to Israel, as the Italian giants' already slim hopes of reaching the knockout phase were vanquished.
Despite finding themselves in the uncomfortable position of partly relying on the outcome of Southampton's trip to Sparta Prague in the other Group K fixture, Inter played with freedom during the first half and were deserving of a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mauro Icardi and Marcelo Brozovic.
Icardi went close to giving Inter a third when he struck the crossbar just after the break, but Hapoel swiftly capitalised and pulled one back through Lucio Maranhao.
Hapoel then levelled against the odds through Anthony Nwakaeme, with goalkeeper Samir Handanovic receiving his marching orders in the process of conceding the spot-kick.
The home side piled on the pressure and deep into stoppage time, Ben Sahar struck to further confirm Inter's exit and leave Hapoel needing just a score draw in their final game at Southampton to progress.
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