Inter Milan beat RB Leipzig by a goal to nil and remain the only side in the Champions League to have not yet conceded.
I Nerazzuri controlled much of the game, with the visitors having only half chances throughout.
Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni each were awarded a yellow card for tactical fouls in the first half as Lois Openda’s pace up front proved to be troublesome and while this may have been a sign of things to come, Inter were able to keep Openda from having any concrete chances.
The first and only goal of the night came on 27 minutes, from a wide free kick swung in by Federico Dimarco. The ball was whipped across the face of goal and deflected in off Castelo Lukeba, who knew nothing about it.
Die Roten Bullen, now sitting 33rd out of 36 with five defeats out of five will have to seriously change their ways in Europe and swiftly if they are to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Inter, on the other hand, sit pretty at the top of the table with no losses and no goals conceded and will just look to continue this run of winning 1-0 in Europe, which Simone Inzaghi will be more than pleased with.
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Story of the match
Such is the depth of Inzaghi’s squad; the Italian made eight changes to the lineup following the 5-0 rout away at Hellas Verona on the weekend.
This approach to rotation seems to be working, seeing as Inter have lost just once in all competitions this season, in the Milan derby.
Joaquín Correa and Marcus Thuram, who got one and two goals respectively against Hellas Verona, were each replaced, alongside six others. This left just Yann Sommer, Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella in both starting lineups.
Marco Rose mirrored his managerial counterpart and made three changes to Leipzig’s defeat at Hoffenheim, in which they were ahead three separate times but lost 4-3.
André Silva, Amadou Haidara and Lutsharel Geertruida replaced Benjamin Sesko, Arthur Vermeeren and Lukas Klostermann, who came off injured at half-time against Hoffenheim.
The German defender added to Leipzig’s injury list, with David Raum, El Chadille Bitshiabu, Eljif Elmas, Yussuf Poulsen, and most notably Xavi Simons all unavailable. For the Italians, Davide Frattesi and Francesco Acerbi, each who have played a large part in Inter’s campaign were also unavailable.
The ball barely entered the Inter half in the first fifteen minutes, and when it did, the home fans were given a scare as Pavard miscontrolled a pass, giving Openda a golden chance to run through on goal. However, the experienced defender held out an arm and pulled the Belgian back, earning him a booking to prevent the chance.
Half an hour in, the Italian onslaught was finally rewarded as Dimarco’s free-kick snuck in at the back post. A closer look saw that a very slight deflection off the French defender Lukeba helped it past Peter Gulacsi in goal.
Yann Sommer made a terrific second-half save midway through the period to keep his clean sheet but neither goalkeeper was troubled very much other than this.
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Player of the match – Hakan Calhanoglu
While the display as a team was dominant, no player really stood out for the Italians, showcasing the hardworking nature of the side.
The Turkish midfielder, however, kept the ball with confidence and controlled his side's possession in the centre of midfield.
When the game called for him to play forward, he did so but when a calmer approach was necessary, he took the opportunity to slow the game down and pass sideways or backwards, a much-needed quality in a team that consistently win games by just the one goal.
