Inter's new chairman, Indonesian business tycoon Erick Thohir, was greeted by the team's worst performance of the season when this afternoon he watched his first game at the San Siro since taking over.
Fredy Guarin gave Inter an 18th-minute lead after dazzling play by Ricardo Alvarez, but they faded badly after halftime and were pegged back to a 1-1 draw by Renan's 89th-minute equaliser for Sampdoria.
Their performance left coach Walter Mazzarri fuming.
"In terms of the way I see football, it's the worst game my team has played this season," he told reporters. "We've always taken the game to our opponents and attacked them.....Today though we were a bit off-colour.
"We had a number of chances, we just needed to be meaner and more clinical, more experienced, just come up with something extra to put the game to bed.
"I didn't like the intensity we showed both with and without the ball," he added. "It wasn't the sort of Inter I like to see. We mustn't let our guard down. We've done a great deal since this summer but every now then we slow down a bit.
"The lads need to figure things out and grow, especially those not used to being in the starting line-up. They have to adapt and play well."
Last month, the International Sports Capital consortium owned by Thohir and two Indonesian partners paid 75 million euros ($101 million) and took on all of Inter's debt of about 180 million euros in exchange for a 70 percent stake in the club.
Previous owner Massimo Moratti, who had been in charge of Inter for 18 years and is now honorary chairman, sat alongside Thohir for Sunday's game.
Italian football has been in steady decline for several years with Inter's 2010 triumph the last time a Serie A side has won the Champions League.
Inter finished a dismal ninth in the league last season, losing 16 out of 38 games, and failed to even qualify for the Europa League.
This term, they have made a reasonable start under Mazzarri, who transformed Napoli's fortunes during four seasons in charge before moving to Inter, and are fourth in the table with 27 points from 14 games, having lost only once.
Thohir was undeterred by Sunday's display.
"It was really incredible, the crowd was great," he told Inter's website (www.inter.it). "The first half was really good and it's a shame we couldn't win."