Man City 0-0 Inter Milan (18 September 2024) Match Analysis

Inter Milan left the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday with a surprise 0-0 draw against Premier League heavyweights Manchester City in the Champions League, taking a small revenge for their narrow defeat to City in the 2023 final of Europe's premier club competition.

Both teams wasted numerous chances in a breathtaking back-and-forth affair. Pep Guardiola's City were largely thwarted by Inter's impressive defensive discipline, while Simone Inzaghi's Inter, who were dangerous on the counterattack on a nerve-wracking evening for both sides, lacked finishing ability.

City striker Erling Haaland, who would have become the fastest player in history to score 100 goals for a European club, will have to wait for that milestone.

The Norwegian, who has scored nine goals in four Premier League games this season, narrowly missed a number of chances in the first half, including a header that was cleared off the line by goalkeeper Yann Sommer and a powerful low shot that went just wide of the post.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan caused a huge sigh of relief among the City fans when he missed a short-term chance, firing a shot from about eight meters just over the bar and then holding his head in disbelief.

On the other hand, Ilkay Gündogan caused the City fans to groan in the last seconds with two narrowly missed headers from close range. He fired the first header straight at the goalkeeper, and the second went just over the crossbar shortly before the final whistle.

City had 22 shots on goal, Inter 13, but had only one more shot on goal than the visitors (five).

“A very intense game against a very strong opponent,” City defender Rúben Dias told TNT.

“We knew what was coming. They are also a top team, they are used to winning and we knew that it would not be an easy task. In the end, I think the team put in a great performance and we were very close to scoring a goal.”

In the new Champions League format, teams will play eight games against eight different opponents. The top eight teams in the 36-team league will automatically advance to the round of 16 and the next 16 will play another knockout round.

It was a lackluster performance for four-time defending English champions City, who sit at their usual top of the Premier League table with a 100% win record after four games. Inter are third in the Serie A table.

City, which beat Inter 1-0 in Istanbul to win the 2023 Champions League as part of its treble, were eliminated in the quarter-finals of Europe's top competition last season by eventual winners Real Madrid, while Inter were eliminated in the round of 16 by Atletico Madrid.