MANCHESTER, England — This is exactly what UEFA had in mind when they revamped the Champions League. Two top teams battling it out in the new-look league phase rather than waiting until the knockout rounds for the best games. The only thing missing from Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Internazionale was goals.
There should have been some. Former Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off the bench and blazed Inter’s best chance over the bar. It was an opportunity so good that manager Simone Inzaghi fell to the floor and started beating the turf with his fist.
The Inter boss had already seen Mkhitaryan’s former Old Trafford teammate Matteo Darmian inexplicably attempt to backheel the ball to Nicolò Barella when everyone inside the stadium expected him to shoot. Visiting teams don’t get too many chances at the Etihad Stadium and the Italian champions were almost made to pay for their wastefulness when Ilkay Gündogan was presented with two close-range headers in the final minutes.
In the end — 466 days after their meeting in the 2023 final in Istanbul — both Inzaghi and Pep Guardiola could make a case that their team should have won while also secretly being relieved that they didn’t lose.
“We played so good,” said Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
“I love my team, we are a fantastic team. Inter are a team that defends really well. They are the masters of defending and transitions as well.”
City haven’t lost a Champions League group stage game at the Etihad since a 2-1 defeat to Lyon six years ago. Under Guardiola, they’ve made a habit of breezing through these early fixtures and quickly turning their attention to the business end of the competition.
At the very least Inter provided a reminder that the new league phase — with games against other top seeds — will be more complicated to navigate. City have been so good in the Champions League that Inter arrived in Manchester as heavy underdogs. However, Inter are Italy’s best team for a reason.
With wing-backs Darmian and Carlos Augusto staying high and wide, Barella was able to find pockets of space all over midfield and move the ball quickly to Marcus Thuram and Mehdi Taremi. Guardiola watched transition after transition with his head in his hands. He was so sick of Barella by the end of the first half that when the Inter midfielder again picked up the ball on the halfway line, he threw his hands in the air and turned away in disgust.
That particular attack was only ended when goalkeeper Ederson made a good save at his near post from Augusto. It was one of 10 shots Inter had in the first half — the first time an opposing side had 10 or more shots in the opening half of a Champions League game at the Etihad since AS Monaco in February 2017. It was no surprise that when the half-time whistle finally went, Guardiola turned and ran down the tunnel ready to get a head-start on his instructions.
His solution was to bring on Gündogan for Kevin De Bruyne — who picked up an injury — and Phil Foden for Savinho and it helped City gain some control and create chances of their own.
Foden shot straight at Yann Sommer after an intricate move started by Jack Grealish and Gündogan should have done better with his two late headers. The first one from Josko Gvardiol’s cross needed to go anywhere else except into Sommer’s grateful gloves. For just the second time in 42 home Champions League matches under Guardiola, City failed to find the net.
Afterwards, Inzaghi said his players had put in “a giant performance.”
“I said well done guys,” he said. “I asked them to play exactly as they did. We all know Manchester City and what they are capable of. We knew we had to pull out all the stops and play a great game and we did it. We created some really good chances as well. When we work well as a team we make it hard for everyone.”
Inter’s performance — achieved with captain Lautaro Martínez on the bench for 66 minutes — laid out their credentials as Champions League challengers.
But in giving as good as they got, City did the same. They’ve reached the knockout rounds for 11 straight years and despite looking vulnerable on occasion, they had chances to win and Guardiola was left happier than he was frustrated. There will be few doubts that City will make it 12 in a row after Christmas. In UEFA’s new format, two of Europe’s best teams met early on and there was enough on show at the Etihad to suggest they could meet again when the competition reaches its climax.
“We conceded one-and-a-half chances and we couldn’t create many chances when a team defends 11 players so deep,” finished Guardiola.
“They help each other so well. I’m pleased with our performance, I liked everything. It’s at the start of the season, the displays will be better, with more time we will be better.”