Inter Milan blanks River Plate to advance in FIFA Club World Cup

SEATTLE — Francesco Pio Esposito scored in the 72nd minute and Alessandro Bastoni added an insurance goal in stoppage time to lead Inter Milan to a 2-0 win over River Plate on Wednesday night and into the second round of the Club World Cup.Esposito’s goal came just six minutes after River Plate’s Lucas Martínez Quarta was shown a red card after taking out the legs of Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a breakaway and preventing a clean shot on goal.Just two minutes before the red card, River Plate came close to taking the lead when Manuel Lanzini found Facundo Colidio in the box with a cross, but Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer made the save.Bastoni’s goal came on a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 93rd minute.Inter Milan finished atop Group E with seven points, two more than Monterrey, which finished second in the group following a 3-0 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds on Wednesday night.River Plate finished in third with four points and Urawa Red Diamonds finished in last, going 0-3.Esposito, a 19-year-old striker, notched his first career goal for Inter Milan after assisting on the squad’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory against Urawa Red Diamonds on Saturday.Inter Milan plays Fluminense — one of four Brazilian clubs to advance to the round of 16 — on Monday in Charlotte, N.C.Monterrey plays Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday 1 at Atlanta....