Less than two years after the 2023 Champions League final, Inter Milan earned a hard-fought draw against Manchester City.
The Italian giant took the field at the Etihad just three days after another disappointing draw in Serie A. Inter Milan dropped points against Genoa to open its title defense and most recently against Monza. Simone Inzaghi responded with several changes to his XI for Inter's Champions League opener, including benching Lautaro Martínez for Mehdi Taremi.
Inter kicked off the match with the intensity the team lacked at the weekend. The reigning Serie A champions looked disciplined off the ball against arguably one of the best attacks in the world, using their organized shape to stifle much of Erling Haaland's chances in the opening 30 minutes. Manchester City's striker grew into the game, though, and missed just wide in the 36th minute with Yann Sommer rooted to the spot.
Inter looked to capitalize on the counter-attack, using its pace to spring forward against City's high line. The visitors' best chance in the first 45 minutes came on the brink of halftime when Carlos Augusto tried his luck from a tight angle inside the opposition's box, forcing Ederson to make a save with his foot.
Both sides came out of the half going for goal, but it was Inter that squandered a glorious chance in the 53rd minute. Matteo Darmian was in acres of space on the counter-attack and instead of taking the shot on his own, he played a backheel that found no one, leaving City free to clear the ball from its penalty area.
City had several half-chances in the second half, including a strike from Phil Foden just 12 yards out in the 69th minute, but Inter's defense did well to close down any space the English champions created in the final third. At the other end of the pitch, Henrikh Mkhitaryan blasted a chance over the crossbar in the 76th minute.
Sommer stood tall in the final moments of the match to deny İlkay Gündoğan's header and keep the scoreline 0–0. Both sides traded blows over 90 minutes, but neither left the Etihad with anything to show for it except a point.
