Man City vs Inter Milan LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as hosts play out goalless draw
Manchester City 0-0 Inter Milan: Pep Guardiola’s side were frustrated by their Italian visitors
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Manchester City kicked off their Champions League campaign with a home stalemate against Inter Milan at the Etihad Stadium in a rematch of the 2023 final.
A tight affair left the hosts frustrated and unable, ultimately, to break down a strong defensive effort from the Italian side as Ilkay Gundogan squandered two late headed chances. Until then, Inter had looked largely calm and in control as they managed to stymie Manchester City in a 0-0 draw, continuing an unbeaten start to the season for the Milan club.
There was an injury worry for Pep Guardiola, though, as Kevin de Bruyne failed to re-emerge after the interval having appeared to sustain an issue late in the first half. The Premier League champions host likely title rivals Arsenal on Sunday and could be without their captain.
Each side take a point apiece from their opening outing in this newly revamped tournament format. Each side will play an initial eight game, with the top eight in the league table automatically qualifying for the next round and a further 16 progressing to the play-off round.
Re-live all the action from the Etihad Stadium with our live blog below:
The new Champions League sets up a high-stakes game in football’s ‘turning point’
When Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin attends the first games of the new Champions League this week, it will be with a considerable security detail. This has led to grumbles from federation staff, especially since very few people outside football know what he even looks like. There have probably only been two moments when the Slovenian official was properly in the public eye.
One was when the Super League was launched in April 2021 and Ceferin admirably defended the spirit of European football in a defiant media appearance, all while lambasting executives as “snakes” and “liars”. Less publicised from that day was the fact Uefa were also in the process of approving the changes to the Champions League we are going to see enacted this week.
The new Champions League sets up a high-stakes game in football’s ‘turning point’
As the competition’s new format gets underway this week, there is a lot more at stake than who lifts the trophy at the end of the season
Where to watch every Champions League fixture on TV this week
Thursday 19 September
17:45 Feyenoord v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - TNT Sports 2
17:45 FK Crvena Zvezda v SL Benfica - TNT Sports 4
20:00 Atalanta BC v Arsenal FC - TNT Sports 1
20:00 AS Monaco v FC Barcelona - TNT Sports 2
20:00 Atlético de Madrid v RB Leipzig - TNT Sports 4
20:00 Stade Brestois 29 v SK Sturm Graz - TNT Sports 5
Where to watch every Champions League fixture on TV this week
Wednesday 18 September
17:45 AC Sparta Praha v FC Salzburg - TNT Sports 6
17:45 Bologna FC 1909 v FC Shakhtar Donetsk - TNT Sports 4
20:00 Celtic FC v ŠK Slovan Bratislava - TNT Sports 2
20:00 Club Brugge KV v Borussia Dortmund - TNT Sports 5
20:00 Manchester City v FC Internazionale Milano - TNT Sports 1
20:00 Paris Saint-Germain v Girona FC - TNT Sports 4
Team news - Inter Milan
Changes at the back for Inter Milan, with Yann Aurel Bisseck, Francesco Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni all brought in to a new-look defensive trio from the draw against Monza. Lautaro Martinez is only on the bench.
Inter Milan XI: Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zieliński, Carlos Augusto; Thuram, Taremi.
Team news - Manchester City
Erling Haaland, a goal away from 100 in a Manchester City shirt, starts up front with Pep Guardiola going with a strong side.
Manchester City XI: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Rodri; Savinho, Silva, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland.
A defensive midfielder winning the Ballon d’Or? Why Rodri’s win would be a historic moment
There has been one goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, and a trio of defenders, though Fabio Cannavaro was more of a stopper than the German midfielders, Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer, who were converted into sweepers.
But there has never been a defensive midfielder. The Ballon d’Or is almost seven decades old and Rodri, the man who earned Manchester City their first Champions League, could be a history maker in another respect.
A trophy that had seemed the private property of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for a decade and a half may have an unlikely winner. Rodri ranks as second favourite, behind Vinicius Junior, for a prize he never imagined he might secure.
A defensive midfielder winning the Ballon d’Or? Why Rodri’s win would be historic
No one in Rodri’s role has ever won men’s football’s most coveted individual award but the Spanish midfielder has earned the right to be considered the best player on the planet
‘It is impossible to sustain’: Rodri speaks out on increase to the schedule
The 28-year-old midfielder spoke about his already heavy workload to argue he is playing too much in light of the fixture schedule increasing with expanisons to the Club World Cup and Champions League.
He said: “From my experience I can tell you that 60-70 [games per season is right]? No. Between 40-50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level, after that you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level.
“This year we can go to 70, maybe 80, I don’t know. It depends how far you go in the competitions. In my humble opinion I think it is too much. I think we have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of this sport or business or whatever you want to call it.
“Not everything is money or marketing, it is also the quality of the show. When I am not tired I perform better and if the people want to see a better football, we need to rest just something to put in there. When the amount of games starts getting bigger, the performance and quality are lower. Lets see where football goes. I would prefer to have less games and a better quality show for the people, that’s for sure.”
Rodri warns players could strike over increase in fixtures
Rodri believes that top footballers are close to going on strike because they are overworked as the schedule increases.
Manchester City could play up to 75 games this season with the expansion of the Champions League and the new Club World Cup next summer, while international football could take the possible maximum for someone to 85 matches.
The midfielder urged football’s governing bodies to think of something other than money as he warned that players may not have an alternative but to go on strike.
“I think we are close to that,” he said. “I think it’s the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps [going] this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option.”
‘I keep all the balls’: Harry Kane breaks Wayne Rooney’s Champions League record with rare hat-trick
Harry Kane was delighted to be in the same “conversation” as Wayne Rooney after breaking his Champions League record in style.
The Bayern Munich striker went into Tuesday night’s clash with Dinamo Zagreb needing one goal to equal Rooney’s record for an Englishman of 30 in the competition’s main draw.
Ninety minutes later, the current England captain was three ahead of one of his predecessors having plundered four goals in a 9-2 win at the Allianz Arena, three of them from the penalty spot.
Harry Kane breaks Wayne Rooney’s Champions League record with rare hat-trick
Kane is the competition’s top-scoring Englishman after scoring four as Bayern hit Dinamo Zagreb for nine to launch their campaign in style
Pep Guradiola on Erling Haaland
The Manchester City boss spoke about his key striker Erling Haaland saying that he is still evolving and improving despite being one of the best forwards in the world.
Guardiola said: “He can evolve, but if you tell me in the next 100 games he scores another 99 goals, for me, it’s fine. I don’t expect he scores two or three in every game; it’s not a problem if that doesn’t happen, but the difference from last season is he feels good.
“Opponents will find a solution to control the number of goals and we have to find a solution to beat them.
“As many games as he plays at this club, he will improve naturally. I played for 11 years as a professional and I scored 11 goals. This guy [has] scored nine in four [this season]. He can equal me in one game.”
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