Less than two years after the 2023 Champions League final, Internazionale secured a hard-fought draw against Manchester City.

The Italian giants took to the field at the Etihad just three days after another disappointing draw in Serie A, with Inter Milan dropping points against Genoa to open their title defence and most recently against Monza. Simone Inzaghi responded with several changes to his starting XI for Inter’s Champions League opener, including benching Lautaro Martínez for Mehdi Taremi.

Inter began the match with the intensity they lacked at the weekend. The reigning Serie A champions looked disciplined on the ball against one of the world’s best attacks, using their organised shape to stifle many of Erling Haaland’s chances in the first 30 minutes. However, the Manchester City striker grew into the game and fired just wide in the 36th minute, with Yann Sommer nailed to the spot.

Inter looked to capitalise on the counter-attack, using their pace to surge forward against City’s high line. The visitors’ best chance of the first 45 minutes came just before half-time when Carlos Augusto tried his luck from a difficult angle inside the opposition penalty area, forcing Ederson to make a save with his foot.

Both teams went for the goal after the break, but it was Inter who wasted a glorious chance in the 53rd minute. Matteo Darmian had plenty of space on the counter and instead of shooting himself, he played a backheel that found no one, allowing City to clear the ball out of the penalty area.

City had several half-chances in the second half, including a Phil Foden strike from just 12 yards out in the 69th minute, but Inter’s defence did well to close down any space the English champions created in the final third. At the other end of the pitch, Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired a chance over the bar in the 76th minute.

Sommer stood strong in the dying moments of the match to stop İlkay Gündoğan’s header and keep the score at 0-0. Both teams traded blows throughout the 90 minutes, but neither left the Etihad with anything other than a point.

Starters

Goalkeeper: Yann Sommer – 7/10 – Sommer made crucial saves in the second half to keep a clean sheet against City, but he will be grateful that Haaland’s first-half effort went wide as the keeper was pinned 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 returned to the defence to assist Acerbi and Bastoni.

CB: Francesco Acerbi – 7/10 – Just like in the 2023 Champions League final, the central defender always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Between clearing chances and making timely and calm interventions in his own penalty area, Acerbi delivered another memorable performance against Haaland.

CB: Alessandro Bastoni – 7/10 – Bastoni continues to impress for Inter, making the right decisions even under immense pressure to keep City from scoring.

RWB: Matteo Darmian – 6/10 – Darmian was good in possession but will be remembered for his blunder on the counter in the second half, when the 34-year-old chose to grind a pass back rather than go for it himself in the 53rd minute.

CM: Nicolò Barella – 7/10 – Barella was everywhere on the pitch for Inter. The midfielder was often the one to initiate his team’s counter-attack, using his vision and precise passing to play the defence.

CM: Hakan Çalhanoğlu – 6/10 – The midfielder did well to drop back into the back and help with the defence, giving City another body to get past in the final third. He was quite effective against Kevin De Bruyne before the Belgian was injured.

CM: Piotr Zieliński – 5/10 – Zieliński made good use of his pace to get past Rodri and Lewis on the counter, but otherwise played a quiet 65 minutes before replacing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

LWB: Carlos Augusto – 6/10 – Augusto effectively tied down Savinho, so much so that the Brazilian was substituted at half-time. He also had Inter’s best chance of the first half, but could not beat Ederson.

ST: Marcus Thuram – 5/10 – The peak failed to deliver when called upon. Whether he was caught offside or tried to fire a shot when he should have passed, Thuram lacked the quality needed to get past City.

ST: Mehdi Taremi – 6/10 – The attacker had a flashy counter-attack tonight, but was let down by his teammates’ decisions in the closing stages.

Substitutes

Lautaro Martinez – 5/10 – The club captain did not have much influence on the match.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5/10 – The substitute will be disappointed not to score the opening goal of the match ten minutes after coming on.

Denzel Dumfries – 5/10 – Dumfries failed to find rhythm in attack.

Benjamin Pavard – 5/10 – Pavard did what he could to help Inter keep a 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 must be pleased with how disciplined his defence was against Pep Guardiola’s team. Inter never really looked underwhelmed and deserved more than a clean sheet against the English champions.

His decision to bench Martinez will cause a stir, but the striker has not been in form this season and looked a shadow of his former self on the bench tonight.