Cristian Chivu believed that Valentin Carboni's winner for Inter against the Urawa Reds was his just reward after putting in the work following a long-term injury lay-off. 

Carboni struck the winning goal in second half stoppage time as Inter picked up a 2-1 win over their Japanese opponents to move top of Group E on Saturday.

The Serie A giants had fallen behind to Ryoma Watanabe's opener, the first time a Japanese side had scored against an Italian team in the history of the Club World Cup. 

But Inter's pressure eventually told in the 78th minute when Lautaro Martinez brilliantly turned Nicolo Barella's inviting corner kick beyond the grasp of Shusaku Nishikawa. 

Carboni was then on hand to snatch all three points for Chivu's side, placing the ball into the bottom-left corner after Petar Sucic had seen his goal-bound effort blocked. 

The goal marked the Argentine's first appearance since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while on international duty with his nation back in October. 

Carboni had been sent out on loan to Ligue 1 side Marseille for the 2024-25 season, with Chivu delighted for the midfielder to come up with an important goal for his team. 

"Carboni was playing his first match after tearing his cruciate ligament," Chivu told reporters shortly after their victory at Lumen Field. 

"He hadn't played in eight months. He worked hard to recover. I'm happy to see him happy."

Inter were made to work for their first victory of their Club World Cup campaign, despite ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.26 to Urawa's 0.5. 

The Nerazzurri posted 26 shots to their opponents' four, with Chivu acknowledging after the game that their win did not come easily as they looked ahead to facing River Plate. 

"We played a good game and a serious game, trying to score goals in every way," Chivu added. "We kept believing in it right until the end. And we did it.

"I'm proud because against a solid team like Urawa, it wasn’t easy. In the second half, we tried with the entry of Pio to also take advantage of the crosses. 

"I could say a lot about Valentin, but also about Pio, Luis Henrique and Sucic."

Inter face Argentine giants River Plate, who play Monterrey in their second match at the tournament on Saturday, in their final group game next week.