Inter Milan hold Manchester City to surprise 0-0 draw in Champions League opener
· CNA · JoinMANCHESTER, England :Inter Milan escaped Etihad Stadium with a surprise 0-0 draw against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, exacting a small measure of revenge for their narrow loss to Pep Guardiola's side in last year's final.
Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair. City were largely stalled by Inter's impressive discipline in defence, while Simone Inzaghi's Inter, who were dangerous on the break on a nervy night for both sides, lacked in finishing.
City's goal machine Erling Haaland, who would have become the fastest player in history to record 100 goals for a European club had he scored, will have to wait to achieve that milestone.
The Norwegian, who has nine goals in four Premier League games this season, narrowly missed a couple of first-half chances including a header that keeper Yann Sommer jumped up to grab on the line, and a hard, low shot that rolled just wide of the post.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had City fans breathing a huge sigh of relief when he missed a late chance, launching a rocket just over the bar from about eight metres out, then holding his head in disbelief.
At the other end, Ilkay Gundogan elicited huge groans from City fans with two narrow misses from close-range headers in the dying seconds. He fired the first one straight at the keeper, with the second one glancing just over the bar right before the final whistle.
City fired 22 shots to Inter's 13, but only had one more shot on target than their visitors with five.
"A very intense game against a very strong opponent," City defender Ruben Dias told TNT.
"We knew what was coming, they're a top team as well, they're used to winning, and we knew we're not going to have an easy job. In the end, I think the team had a great performance, we were very close to scoring."
Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight teams in the 36-team league automatically advancing to the last 16, and the next 16 playing a further knockout round.
It was a lacklustre performance for four-time defending English champions City, who are in a familiar spot sitting atop the Premier League table after four games with a 100 per cent record. Inter are third in the Serie A table.
City, who edged Inter 1-0 to hoist the 2023 Champions League trophy in Istanbul as part of their treble, were eliminated by eventual winners Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of Europe's top competition last season, while Inter were ousted by Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.
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