Champions League 2024-25, Manchester City held 0-0 by Inter: Stats
Manchester City and Inter played out a 0-0 draw in matchweek 1 of the revamped 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season at the Etihad. Despite dominating possession and attempts, Pep Guardiola's Man City couldn't break down a resolute Inter side, who held on for a hard-fought point. Inter too had their moments in front of goal but failed to take them. Here's more.
Match stats from the first half
Inter clocked 10 shots with three of them on target. The hosts had two shots on target from nine attempts. Man City had 22 touches in the opposition half whereas Inter managed seven. Man City also owned 62% ball possession with Inter playing on the counter. The hosts managed 138 passes in the final 3rd compared to Inter's 19.
Both sides lacked the cutting edge in the first half
Both teams had decent moments in the first half with 19 attempts shared as mentioned. However, there was a lack of cutting edge for both sides in the final 3rd. Yann Sommer made two telling saves for Inter.
Inter dig deep to keep City at bay
Inter dug in the 2nd half to frustrate City and showed superb organisation despite facing increased pressure. Phil Foden, who came on as a second-half substitute for the injured Kevin De Bruyne, saw a shot saved by Inter keeper Sommer, who also thwarted Josko Gvardiol. IIkay Gundogan too had a strong chance late on. For Inter, Matteo Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed presentable chances.
Decoding the key records for the two teams
Inter have lost only lost three of their last 21 Champions League games (W11 D8). Excluding penalties, Man City are now unbeaten in 24 Champions League games. Only Manchester United (25) are ahead of their city rivals. For just the 2nd time in 42 Champions League matches under Guardiola, City failed to score. Inter kept their 4th away UCL clean sheet against English clubs.
2nd European meeting between the two sides
Before this, Man City and Inter met in the 2022-23 Champions League final which the former won 1-0. That was the maiden European meeting between the two sides.
Here are the match stats
Inter clocked 13 shots with four of them on target. The hosts had five shots on target from 22 attempts. Man City had 48 touches in the opposition half whereas Inter managed 12. Man City also owned 60% ball possession. The hosts managed 2 passes in the final 3rd compared to Inter's 19.
