Inter's performance proves Man City is not invincible

MANCHESTER, England — That's exactly what UEFA had in mind when it revamped the Champions League. Two top teams will battle it out for the title in the revamped league phase, rather than waiting until the knockout rounds for their best games. The only thing missing from Manchester City's 0-0 draw with Internazionale was goals.

There should have been. Former Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off the bench and fired Inter's best chance over the bar. It was such a good opportunity that manager Simone Inzaghi fell to the ground and started pounding his fist on the turf.

The Inter coach had already seen Mkhitaryan's former Old Trafford teammate Matteo Darmian inexplicably attempt to backheel the ball to Nicolò Barella when everyone in the stadium expected him to shoot. Visiting teams don't get too many chances at the Etihad Stadium and the Italian champions almost paid for their wastefulness when Ilkay Gundogan got two close-range headers in the dying minutes.

In the end – 466 days after their meeting in the 2023 final in Istanbul – both Inzaghi and Pep Guardiola could argue that their team should have won, while also being secretly relieved not to have lost.

“We played so well,” said Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola.

“I love my team, we are a fantastic team. Inter is a team that defends really well. They are masters of defense and transition.”

City have not lost a Champions League group game at the Etihad since a 2-1 defeat to Lyon six years ago and under Guardiola they have made a habit of coming through those early games with ease and then quickly moving on to the decisive phase of the competition.

At least Inter has reminded us that the new league phase – with games against other top teams – will be more difficult to master. City were so good in the Champions League that Inter came to Manchester as clear underdogs. But there is a reason Inter are Italy's best team.

With full-backs Darmian and Carlos Augusto positioned high and wide, Barella was able to find gaps throughout the midfield and play the ball quickly to Marcus Thuram and Mehdi Taremi. Guardiola watched one transition after another with his head in his hands. By the end of the first half, he was so fed up with Barella that when the Inter midfielder picked up the ball again on the halfway line, he threw his hands in the air and turned away in disgust.

That particular attack was only ended when goalkeeper Ederson did a good job of parrying an Augusto shot at the near post. It was one of 10 shots on goal that Inter had in the first half – the first time an opposition team had 10 or more shots on goal in the first half of a Champions League match at the Etihad since AS Monaco in February 2017. It was no surprise that Guardiola turned and ran down the tunnel when the half-time whistle finally blew, ready to take a lead on his instructions as he fired the ball into the middle.

His solution was to bring on Gundogan for the injured Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden for Savinho, which gave City more control and the ability to create chances of their own.

Foden shot straight at Yann Sommer after a complicated move set up by Jack Grealish, and Gündogan could have done better with his two late headers. The first, from a cross by Josko Gvardiol, could have gone anywhere but into Sommer's grateful gloves. For only the second time in 42 Champions League home games under Guardiola, City failed to score.

Afterwards, Inzaghi said his players had put in “a great performance”.

“I said 'well done lads,'” he said. “I asked them to play exactly the way they did. We all know Manchester City and what they are capable of. We knew we had to pull out all the stops and play a great game and that's what we did. We created some really good chances too. When we work well together as a team, we make it difficult for anyone.”

Inter's performance – despite captain Lautaro Martínez being on the bench for 66 minutes – cemented the team's qualification for the Champions League.

But City have responded as well as they have. They have reached the knockout stages for 11 years in a row and although they have looked vulnerable at times, they had chances to win and Guardiola was happy rather than frustrated. There is little doubt that City will be looking to make it 12th straight wins after Christmas. The new UEFA format saw two of Europe's best teams meet early on and there was enough to see at the Etihad Stadium to suggest they could meet again when the competition reaches its peak.

“We conceded one and a half chances and were not able to create many chances when a team defends so deep with eleven players,” concluded Guardiola.

“They help each other so well. I'm happy with our performance, I liked everything. It's the start of the season, the performances are getting better, with more time we'll get better.”