Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi praised his team's 'giant performance' after they held Manchester City to a goalless draw in their Champions League opener on Wednesday. The new expanded format of the Champions League was designed to bring together Europe's top teams more frequently before the knockout stages. While the rematch of the 2023 final, won 1-0 by City, didn't provide much excitement, Inter felt they could have ended City's six-year unbeaten run at home in European competitions. Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the best chance of the game 15 minutes from the end.
'I told my team 'well done' in the dressing room. They delivered a giant performance,' Inzaghi said. 'We all know Manchester City and what they can do. We all know their achievements, especially at home. We did well and had some good chances too. I was in despair when Mkhitaryan didn't score.'
City have started their Premier League title defense with four straight wins but struggled to find their rhythm against Inter. 'We would love to win and create more chances, but I must give credit to the opponent. They were exceptional,' said City manager Pep Guardiola. 'We played much better than in the final two years ago. I liked everything from my team today. You prefer to win, but there are still seven games left, and we'll see what happens.'
Rodri, who scored the winning goal in the Istanbul final 15 months ago, returned to the City starting lineup for the first time this season after helping Spain win Euro 2024. Despite his presence, Inter remained composed in possession and often broke through City's press, though they lacked composure in the final third. Marcus Thuram had the visitors' best chance in the first half but shot wide from the edge of the box. Erling Haaland found Inter a tougher opponent than he has faced in his nine Premier League goals this season. The Norwegian nearly broke the deadlock before halftime with a low shot that went just wide with Yann Sommer stranded.
City face Arsenal in a top-of-the-table Premier League clash on Sunday and suffered a blow just before halftime when Kevin De Bruyne limped off after his attempted cross was blocked by Sommer. The Belgian was replaced at halftime, along with Savinho, as Guardiola brought on Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden to boost the attack. However, the cautious pattern continued with few chances for either side. City's attacking talent finally came to life when an intricate move involving Jack Grealish and Gundogan set up Foden, who forced Sommer into his first meaningful save 20 minutes from time. Inter nearly sealed a mature away performance with a decisive blow. Denzel Dumfries sprinted clear down the right, and his deflected cross found Mkhitaryan, who failed to hit the target. City nearly snatched victory at the death when Gundogan headed over Jeremy Doku's cross. But neither side could claim they deserved all three points, and the match ended in a draw.
