Manchester City vs. Inter Milan: the complete guide
All there is to know ahead of the opening game of the new Champions League
There are nights when the stars shine brighter than usual, when emotions shif between hopes and dreams: special nights with unique and legendary clashes. European nights, Champions League nights: Inter Milan are preparing to embark on a new journey in the top European competition, a journey that begins in Manchester.
The Nerazzurri are flying to England to face Manchester City: the opening game of the new league phase of the UEFA Champions League will be played on Wednesday 18 September at 21:00 CEST (20:00 local time) at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Inter Milan have only faced Manchester City once in their history, in the Champions League 2022/23 final in Istanbul. Across the history of the tournament, the Nerazzurri have won away to four different English sides: Newcastle (2002/03), Arsenal (2003/04), Chelsea (2009/10) and Liverpool (2021/22). Only Barcelona (7), Real Madrid (5) and Bayern Munich (5) have managed to beat at least five different English sides in their own grounds in the Champions League.
Moreover, Inter Milan have only lost three of their last 20 games in the Champions League (11 wins, 6 draws).
LAUTARO IN EUROPE: From 2019/20, Lautaro Martinez has scored in each of the last five Champions League seasons.
In Inter Milan history, only Julio Cruz has scored in six consecutive editions of the Champions League from 2003/04 to 2008/09.
SOMMER STOPPER
Inter Milan’s Yann Sommer was the goalkeeper with the highest percentageof saves in the Champions League 2023/24 (86% - at least two per match); the Swiss goalie saved 25 of the 29 shots taken against him last time out.
OPPOSITION: MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City started the season with good results: the English side won the Community Shield in August over Manchester United and are now sitting at the top of the Premier League with a maximum of 12 points after four games. So far, Manchester City have scored 11 goals and conceded only 3: their top goalscorer is Norweigian international, Erling Braut Haaland, who has bagged 9 times in their first four league games. Haaland is one of four Manchester City players nominated for the Ballon d’Or: Ruben Dias, Phil Foden and Rodri.
REFEREE
Officiating Manchester City vs. Inter Milan in the opening game of the UEFA Champions League league phase will be Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg, assisted by Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderkvist, with Adam Ladebäck as fourth official. Dutchman Pol van Boekel will beo n VAR duty and Spaniard Ricardo de Burgos will be on AVAR.
Source: inter.it