Inter beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at San Siro on Wednesday night, and they did it with ten men. Carlos Augusto scored the only goal in the 77th minute, nine minutes after Alessandro Bastoni was sent off.
It was a result Inter needed. They had lost their last two games on the evidence of the form guide, 2-1 at Real Madrid and 4-3 at home to Club Brugge, and came into this League phase matchday 3 game conceding two goals a game.
The decisive minutes
The game was goalless for more than an hour. Oleg Ocheretko was booked for Shakhtar in the 36th minute, and Marcus Thuram went into the book for Inter in the 54th.
Then the match turned. Bastoni was cautioned in the 66th minute and shown a second yellow in the 68th, leaving Inter a player short for the final 22 minutes plus stoppage time. Marlon Gomes was booked for Shakhtar in the same minute, and Petar Sucic became Inter's third booking of the night in the 72nd.
Inter still found the winner. Carlos Augusto scored in the 77th minute from an assist by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was not in the starting line-up.
What the numbers say
The statistics suggest a close contest, with Inter slightly ahead where it counted. They had 13 shots to Shakhtar's 12, and five on target to the visitors' four. Six of Inter's efforts went off target, against three from Shakhtar.
- Possession: Shakhtar 55%, Inter 45%
- Blocked shots: Shakhtar 5, Inter 2
- Corners: Inter 5, Shakhtar 4
- Fouls: Shakhtar 10, Inter 9
- Offsides: 2 each
Shakhtar had more of the ball and had five shots blocked, but they could not find a way past Inter's goalkeeper Josep Martínez. It was a clean sheet for Inter, who had kept only one before kick-off. Shakhtar had not kept one.
The result also extends Inter's good record in this fixture. In the five previous meetings, Inter won twice and drew three times, and Shakhtar never won. The most recent was a 2-0 Inter win in November 2021.
What it means
Before kick-off, Inter were 20th in the 36-team league phase table with three points from three games and a goal difference of minus one. Shakhtar were 17th with four points and a goal difference of plus one. Both sat outside the top eight who go straight through to the last 16. Inter's three points close that gap on Shakhtar.
MFF's match model had forecast a 2-1 Inter win, giving the hosts a 57% chance, with 20% for a draw and 23% for a Shakhtar win. It had the winner right but the scoreline wrong. Inter needed only one goal.
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