Inter Milan escaped Etihad Stadium with a surprise 0-0 draw against Premier League heavyweights Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, exacting a small measure of revenge for their narrow loss to City in the 2023 final of Europe’s top club competition.
Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair. Pep Guardiola’s 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 score 100 goals for a European club had he scored, had 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 chance at late-game heroics, launching a rocket just over the bar from about eight metres out, then holding his head in disbelief.
At the other end, Ilkay Gündogan elicited huge groans from City fans with his two narrow misses on short-range headers in the dying seconds, the second one glancing just over the bar right before the final whistle.