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Jose Mourinho had to settle for a draw in his first Serie A match in charge at Internazionale as they were held 1-1 at Sampdoria.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had given the visitors the lead in the 33rd minute and for a long time it looked like Inter were going to grind out the type of away win that Mourinho's Chelsea sides were noted for over the years.

However, a close range equaliser from Gennaro Delvecchio in the 68th minute was enough to give the Genoa side a deserved point.

In a game of few chances, Inter took the lead against the run of play, when Ibrahimovic played a lovely one-two with new signing Mancini on the edge of the area.

The Swede then took the ball down before placing a shot beyond his defender, Hugo Campagnoro, and also goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, into the corner of the net.

The shot was somewhat of a mis-hit, and there was also a hint of handball when Ibrahimovic controlled Mancini's return ball, but it was still another classy goal to add to the Swede's impressive collection.

That goal was a tough break on Sampdoria who enjoyed the better of the play although they struggled to create chances against Inter's well oiled defence.

However, they finally restored parity in the 68th minute when Lithuanian Marius Stankevicius whipped in a good cross to the back post.

Inter full-back Maicon got their first but could only direct the ball into the path of Delvecchio who then tapped in from close range.

The game opened up in the closing stages as Inter searched for a winner and both sides came close to nicking it before the death.

First Angelo Palombo saw a stinging drive well saved by Inter keeper Julio Cesar and then at the other end Luis Jimenez flashed a close range header over.

However, the match finished in the fair scoreline of 1-1, and Mourinho will have to settle for just a solitary point in his first Serie A outing.

Earlier, Antonio Di Natale scored a fine double to help Udinese beat Palermo 3-1 at home in the opening game of the season.

The Italy forward curled the ball inside the far post in the ninth minute and showed great skill to control a long pass from Gaetano D'Agostino and chip Palermo keeper Marco Amelia in the 34th.

Australian Mark Bresciano pulled one back for the visitors in the 69th but Switzerland midfielder Gokhan Inler restored Udinese's two-goal cushion just a minute later with a header from a corner.

Last year's runners-up Roma entertain Napoli on Sunday, while Milan host Bologna and Juventus face fierce rivals Fiorentina away from home in the late game.

Seán Fay & / Reuters