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.
Inter Milan Player Ratings vs Manchester City
Starters
GK: Yann Sommer – 7/10 – Sommer made critical saves in the second half to maintain a clean sheet against City. He will be thankful, though, that Haaland's shot went wide in the first half because the keeper was rooted to the spot.
CB: Yann Bisseck – 7/10 – Bisseck made several great runs forward to link up with his midfielders on the counter-attack and always got back on defense to help Acerbi and Bastoni.
CB: Francesco Acerbi – 7/10 – Just like the 2023 Champions League final, the center-back always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Between clearing chances and making timely, calm interventions in his own box, Acerbi delivered another memorable performance against Haaland.
CB: Alessandro Bastoni – 7/10 – Bastoni continues to impress for Inter and made all the right decisions, even while under immense pressure, to keep City off the scoresheet.
RWB: Matteo Darmian – 6/10 – Darmian was tidy in possession but will be remembered for his blunder on the counter-attack in the second half; the 34-year-old elected to backheel a pass instead of going for goal in the 53rd minute.
CM: Nicolò Barella – 7/10 – Barella was everywhere on the pitch for Inter. The midfielder was often the one to kickstart his side's counter-attack, using his vision and accurate passing to play out the back.
CM: Hakan Çalhanoğlu – 6/10 – The midfielder did well to drop back into the backline and help out on defense, giving City another body to get past in the final third. He was quite effective against Kevin De Bruyne before the Belgian came off due to injury.
CM: Piotr Zieliński – 5/10 – Zieliński used his pace to bypass Rodri and Lewis on the counter-attack, but otherwise had a quiet 65 minutes before coming off for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
LWB: Carlos Augusto – 6/10 – Augusto effectively locked down Savinho, so much so that the Brazilian was subbed off at halftime. He also had Inter's best chance of the first half, but could not beat Ederson.
ST: Marcus Thuram – 5/10 – The striker did not deliver when called upon. Whether he strayed offside or attempted a shot when he should have passed, Thuram lacked the quality needed to get past City.
ST: Mehdi Taremi – 6/10 – The forward had flashes on the counter-attack tonight but was let down by his teammates' decision-making in the final third.
Substitutes
Lautaro Martínez – 5/10 – The club captain failed to have much of an impact on the game.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5/10 – The substitute will be disappointed not to find the game's opening goal just ten minutes after coming on the pitch.
Denzel Dumfries – 5/10 – Dumfries failed to find much rhythm on the attack.
Benjamin Pavard – 5/10 – Pavard did what he could to help maintain Inter's clean sheet.
Davide Frattesi – 5/10
Manager
Simone Inzaghi – 7/10 – Of course Inzaghi would have liked to leave Manchester with a win, but the manager has to be happy with how disciplined his defense played against Pep Guardiola's side. Inter never looked overly caught out and more than earned a clean sheet against the English champions.
Plenty will be made about his decision to bench Martínez, but the striker has lacked form this season and looked like a shell of himself off the bench tonight.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inter Milan Player Ratings: Nerazzurri Secure a Gritty 0–0 Draw Against Manchester City.
