Manchester Metropolis have been held to a 0-0 draw by a spirited Inter facet because the Premier League champions endured a irritating begin to their Champions League marketing campaign.
Metropolis dominated the ball however Inter created clear possibilities on the counter-attack. That they had 10 pictures within the opening interval – the joint-most conceded beneath Pep Guardiola in a house Champions League tie and greater than in any Premier League recreation.
Guardiola’s facet have been restricted to half-chances – Phil Foden’s shot on his return being their finest opening earlier than Ilkay Gundogan twice squandered good headed openings – and so they may hardly declare to have been at their fluent finest. Inter boss Simone Inzaghi, in the meantime, will likely be aggravated by his facet’s wastefulness on the break.
The night was made much more awkward when Kevin De Bruyne was substituted on the interval having acquired remedy late within the first half. His health will likely be a priority to supporters forward of the Premier League showdown with Arsenal on Tremendous Sunday.
De Bruyne concern forward of Arsenal
Requested to verify the dimensions of the harm to De Bruyne, Guardiola was not sure of the state of affairs relating to his star playmaker. “I don’t know, I did not speak with the doctors yet,” he revealed within the press convention. “I will have more info tomorrow.”
The incident that appeared to trigger De Bruyne hassle occurred late within the first half when he got here near capitalising on a Yann Sommer error however discovered himself crowded out by the goalkeeper on the left angle of the six-yard field and shortly pulled up.
Guardiola’s resolution to not ship him out for the second half might have been precautionary however with the sport in opposition to the Gunners arising on the weekend it’s removed from best for the Premier League champions. De Bruyne has been in high quality kind.
At the least Foden’s return is a welcome one for Guardiola. He might have missed a superb alternative on his proper foot however his introduction alongside Gundogan added some impetus to Metropolis’s play within the second half. Anticipate him to be an element on the weekend.
Guardiola: I’m actually happy
Man Metropolis head coach Pep Guardiola talking within the press convention:
“We faced a really difficult team, champions of Italy for the last two years, build-up with [Yann] Sommer and [Alessandro] Bastoni, the transition, without pressure on the ball they kill you.
“However I’m actually happy with how we performed. We performed a lot better than within the [2023 Champions League] remaining two years in the past in opposition to them.”
Inzaghi: A giant performance
Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi speaking in the press conference:
“I mentioned, ‘Effectively performed, guys,’ they put in an enormous efficiency. I requested them to play precisely as they did.
“We all know Manchester City and what they are capable of, what they have achieved, especially at home. We knew we had to play a great game and we did this.
“And we created some actually good possibilities as properly. We most likely ought to have exploited them higher however we labored properly as a staff and once we work properly as a staff we make it powerful for any opponent.
“It’s true that you go into the next game with a lot of confidence after a performance like this. But I would have preferred to have won.”
Evaluation: Metropolis responsible of uncommon misfire
Sky Sports activities’ Laura Hunter on the Etihad Stadium:
It is extraordinarily uncommon to see Manchester Metropolis contained so expertly, for a whole 90 minutes, at residence.
The juxtaposition of Simone Inzaghi on the touchline – throwing his arms up in an more and more animated method – together with his calm and composed gamers on the pitch advised a lot of the story.
Inter have been organised in a form and system that stifled Metropolis, till the closing moments, the place a pair of Gundogan headers most likely ought to have made the guests pay.
Twenty-two pictures, 5 on track, three ‘massive possibilities’ and an xG of two.45, however no targets. “They are masters of defending, so deep, they help each other so well,” Guardiola mirrored. “I like everything on my team today.” The whole lot bar the scoreline.
Man Metropolis’s night time in stats
- For simply the second time in 42 residence Champions League matches beneath Pep Guardiola, Manchester Metropolis failed to search out the online, with their different failure a goalless draw with Sporting in March 2022.
- Though they didn’t win tonight, Man Metropolis prolonged their unbeaten Champions League run to 24 matches, only one behind the document set by Man Utd between 2007 and 2009.
- On an evening when he may have netted his one hundredth purpose in all competitions for Man Metropolis, Erling Haaland had simply 14 touches, the fewest of any participant to start out tonight’s recreation on both facet.
- Jack Grealish created 4 possibilities tonight – because the begin of the 2022-23 marketing campaign, the Man Metropolis winger has created extra possibilities within the Champions League than another participant (55).
- Rico Lewis made his tenth Champions League look for Man Metropolis, all beneath Pep Guardiola. He’s the third teenager to play 10+ video games within the competitors beneath Guardiola, after Bojan (14) and Phil Foden (11).
