The new Champions League structure has failed to deliver more thrilling matches with increased stakes.
The champions of England were finally subdued by the champions of Italy in a match that remained tense yet failed to escalate into genuine excitement.
This became the first occasion since March that City did not score at home, despite registering 21 shots; their offense encountered expectedly robust opposition from their Italian rivals. The restructured Champions League, which promised more significant matches, exemplified this with a rematch of the 2023 final, which City won 1-0 in Istanbul.
Despite both teams competing vigorously and creating sufficient opportunities to secure victory in two matches, the result concluded in a draw, a conclusion that will favor Simone Inzaghi’s team more than Pep Guardiola’s.
Inter arrived in Manchester ranked third in Serie A, having begun their domestic campaign with two victories and two draws, but City maintained a flawless start to the season.
City unveiled their new kit, co-designed by Oasis musician Noel Gallagher, inspired by the band’s seminal debut album, Definitely Maybe, released 30 years prior. However, the new uniform failed to motivate a Champagne Supernova performance from City’s players.
Inter praised the attributes of a proficient Italian team – well organized, resilient, disciplined, and difficult to penetrate, as City discovered, despite having more possession overall.
Despite controlling the speed and structure of the game initially, the first opportunity fell to the visitors, with Marcus Thuram misfiring wide after 15 minutes.
Erling Haaland, aspiring to be the quickest player to attain 100 goals for a single club, was afforded an opportunity five minutes later but sent a header directly at Yann Sommer.
City winger Savninho was afforded an opportunity to score when Haaland selflessly relinquished the ball; however, the Brazilian’s effort was so errant that it nearly reached the Inter fans, landing around 20 yards wide of the goal.
Ederson avoided a potentially detrimental error one minute before to the half-hour mark by sprinting off his line to prevent the ball from going out for a corner.
Despite his success, he sent the ball directly to former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian, whose attempt on goal—while Ederson was out of position—was cleared by Gvardiol’s header.
Inter could have seized the lead four minutes prior to half-time after Rodri, lacking rhythm in his initial start of the season, relinquished possession beyond the City area; however, Thuram once more failed to find the target.
Shortly thereafter, Sommer and Carlos Augusto collaborated to impede De Bruyne as he attempted to access the ball for an angled shot, resulting in a significant impact on the City playmaker.
De Bruyne did not reappear for the second half, substituted by Ilkay Gundogan, while Savinho was also replaced by Phil Foden, who returned to play after an illness.
Darmian had an opportunity to put Inter ahead seven minutes into the second half, but strangely opted for a back-heel instead of taking a shot, his mistake enraging his manager Inzaghi.
Foden almost broke the stalemate 20 minutes before the conclusion, but his close-range attempt was directed at Sommer. Subsequently, another former United player, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, sent the ball soaring over the crossbar moments later, while Gundogan squandered two headers in the closing stages that might have secured the victory.
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