10-man Inter bounces out of Europa League after meltdown in Israel

Despite building a 2-0 lead in Thursday's must-win match at Hapoel Beer-Sheva, fallen Serie A giant Inter found a way to concede thrice in the second half, lose the game, and get eliminated from the Europa League.

Mauro Icardi and Marcelo Brozovic put the Nerazzurri on the path to victory, only for Lucio Maranhao, Anthony Nwakaeme, and Ben Sahar to flip the script entirely.

The fatal blow arrived when goalkeeper Samir Handanovic's trailing leg took down Beer-Sheva midfielder Maor Buzaglo in the penalty area. The Slovenian, already on a yellow card, was sent off for his trouble.

Nwakaeme buried the resulting spot-kick past replacement Juan Carrizo to level the score at 2-2.

Even a draw would've directed Inter to the exit.

But ex-Chelsea man Sahar made the comeback complete with an uncontested 93rd-minute strike, sealing Beer-Sheva's second famous win against the flailing Italian club.

The Israeli outfit also collected a 2-0 win over Frank de Boer's Inter at the San Siro earlier in the campaign.

It is the first time Inter has failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

The club had some confidence going into Thursday's fixture, the first European clash under new manager Stefano Pioli.

Inter fought to claim a comeback of its own in Sunday's derby against AC Milan, but was on the wrong end of one this time around.

Beer-Sheva will now face Southampton on Dec. 8 to determine which team joins Group K winner Sparta Prague in the Round of 32.

A scoring draw away at St. Mary's would be enough for Beer-Sheva to make a historic appearance in the knockout round.