Inter Milan had to do it the hard way. Alessandro Bastoni was sent off in the 68th minute, leaving Cristian Chivu’s side to defend with ten men, but a Carlos Augusto strike nine minutes later gave Inter their first Champions League win of the season, according to the BBC. The Nerazzurri rode out a nervy finish to claim all three points at San Siro, moving to six points after three league-stage games.
Key Moments
- 36′, Oleg Ocheretko booked for a foul, the first caution of the night and a sign of Shakhtar’s physical approach to disrupting Inter’s build-up.
- 59′, Chivu reshuffles with a triple substitution: Hakan Calhanoglu, Djed Spence and Federico Dimarco all come off, replaced by Piotr Zielinski, Andy Diouf and Yann Bisseck.
- 66′, Alessandro Bastoni picks up his first yellow card for dissent, putting himself in dangerous territory.
- 68′, Bastoni is shown a second yellow and is sent off, reducing Inter to ten men with more than 20 minutes left to play.
- 77′, Carlos Augusto breaks the deadlock. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, on as a substitute just two minutes earlier, picks out the defender with an assist, and Augusto finishes to give Inter the lead.
Tactical Breakdown
Shakhtar controlled the ball for much of the evening, finishing with 55% possession and 533 total passes compared to Inter’s 424. Yet the xG numbers told a different story: Inter generated 1.02 expected goals against just 0.58 for the visitors, meaning the Ukrainians were recycling possession without creating genuine danger. Josep Martinez was still called into action four times, but Inter’s defensive shape held firm even after Bastoni’s dismissal.
Chivu’s triple substitution at the hour mark changed the game’s texture. The arrivals of Zielinski, Diouf and Bisseck tightened Inter’s midfield and brought more discipline to their defensive block. Then, with the game still goalless and his team a man down, Chivu sent on Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 75th minute, and the Armenian had an immediate impact, providing the assist for Augusto’s winner two minutes later.
Shakhtar’s inability to exploit the extra man cost them. Their 12 shots produced only four on target, and five were blocked. Without a true cutting edge in the final third, and with Inter’s compact ten-man shape limiting space, the visitors could not find a way through. Kaua Elias, their lone striker, was isolated and replaced at the 72-minute mark without having troubled the scoreboard.
Player Ratings
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Verdict
The three points lift Inter to 21st in the Champions League standings with six points from three games, still in the qualifying places for the play-off round. Shakhtar drop to 17th on four points after a result that exposed their lack of cutting edge despite dominating possession. For Inter, a first European win of the season under Chivu gives the squad something to build on, even if the manner of victory, grinding it out with ten men for the closing stretch, will raise questions the coaching staff will want answered before the next game.