Manchester City’s first Champions League game of the season did not get off to an ideal start after they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Italian champions Inter Milan. Simone Inzaghi’s side were superb and won a lot of plaudits for holding the Premier League holders away from home.
There were some golden chances for both sides throughout the game, especially in the second half. Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed from 15 yards for the visitors, blasting over the crossbar, and Phil Foden saw a shot saved with his right foot, which, had that been on his stronger side, might have ended up in the back of the net.
However, arguably City’s best two chances of the game came late on, for their returning midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. He had two headers from inside the penalty box, one of which landed safely in the arms of Yann Sommer, and the other which was headed over the bar.
Pep Guardiola will no doubt be disappointed that his side dropped points in the opening game of the Champions League. It will be a competition they are surely aiming to win, and they would have been hoping to kick-start proceedings with three points.
Man City’s attacking stats vs Inter
It was certainly a frustrating night for the Citizens who had plenty of chances but simply could not score.
As per Sofascore, Inter’s Swiss shot-stopper Sommer made an impressive five saves on the night, with three of those from shots inside the penalty area.
Overall, City had 22 shots against the 20-time Scudetto winners, managing to get just five efforts on target, seven being blocked by the I Nerazzurri defence, and the other ten completely missing the target.
Man City offensive numbers v Inter | |
|---|---|
Shots | 22 |
Shots on target | 5 |
Shots off target | 10 |
Blocked shots | 7 |
Shots inside the box | 16 |
Shouts outside the box | 6 |
Expected goals | 2.35xG |
Stats from Sofascore | |
Frustratingly for the Manchester outfit, their star striker, Erling Haaland, had a tough night at the Etihad Stadium.
He had just 14 touches and managed three shots. It will not be too much of a concern in terms of the Norweigan’s form, given he has nine goals in just four Premier League games, but it is frustrating for Guardiola that they could not score without Haaland.
It was certainly a disappointing night in front of goal for the Premier League side but one of their attackers in particular was underwhelming.
Savinho’s stats vs Inter
The player in question here is Brazilian winger Savinho. It was not an easy night for the 20-year-old who looked a far cry from his normal self. He is usually one of the most confident players on the pitch, taking players on in one-vs-one situations, but looked a shadow of that player.
He was subsequently taken off at half-time by Guardiola, and was replaced by Foden who had a much greater impact on the game than the Brazilian managed during his 45 minutes on the pitch.
The former Girona winger received a 6/10 rating for his performance from Simon Bajkowsk, chief Manchester City writer for the Manchester Evening News. The journalist explained that “it must be a concern” if he was getting subbed at half-time again for something other than tactical reasons.
Indeed, his tough night was reflected in his Sofascore stats. Surprisingly, the young winger attempted just one dribble, and whilst he did complete it, it is a far fewer amount attempted than normal. He did not manage to have a shot on target, lost the ball seven times, and even had one fewer touch than Ederson, 36 compared to the goalkeeper’s 37.
It was certainly a disappointing performance from the young winger, and it could see him dropped for a crunch clash against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
Whilst it is arguably harsh for Guarduola to make such a decision, he might prefer the impact of Foden in the team, or the addition of Jeremy Doku who is a more like-for-like change.
