Real Madrid have started the season in the Champions League with a victory. The team of coach Carlo Ancelotti held out in the first half against a dominant Internazionale, crawled out of the shell after the break and made the difference in the last minute. Substitute Rodrygo scored on a pass from Eduardo Camavinga and plunged Giuseppe Meazza into mourning. Earlier in the evening, the other game in the group, between Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk, ended in a 2-0 win for the Moldovans.
The first chance for Inter came in the ninth minute. Lautaro Martínez was reached by Milan Skriniar and servant Edin Dzeko, who encountered Thibaut Courtois’ feet. Five minutes later, Casemiro took a long-range shot that went just wide. In the nineteenth minute, Martínez failed to give the home team the lead. The Argentinian had a good head chance after preparatory work by Ivan Perisic, but Courtois saved his headbutt. Ten minutes before half time, Real was close to the opening goal: after a measured cross from Luka Modric, Éder Militao headed wide from a promising position.
In the final minute ?? Rodrygo scores on behalf of Real Madrid and so there seems to be no time left for Inter??#ZiggoSport #UCL #INTRMA pic.twitter.com/UBVl8kU1Ig
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 15, 2021
A Marcelo Brozovic bet sailed across Militão’s legs and wide of the goal; Martínez again missed a header opportunity. Courtois then parried a powerful shot from Dzeko. Overall, Inter was the dominant side in the first half and played their football properly, but due to a lack of precision in the finish it was still 0-0 at half time. Eight minutes after the break, another huge opportunity for Inter followed. A header from Dzeko was turned over by Courtois, after which Skriniar failed to use the rebound from close range. Immediately after that missed opportunity, Dumfries made his entrance as a replacement for Matteo Darmian.
Samir Handanovic prevented Carvajal from making it 0-1, after a mistake by Federico Dimarco and a pass by Karim Benzema. The steamy Dumfries tried to fire a low shot towards the short corner, but David Alaba blocked the shot. On the other side, De Vrij stopped Vinícius Júnior’s shot. In the second half, the difference in power was less clear than before halftime. Both sides were evenly matched and Real was more threatening in the last fifteen minutes. The visitors’ final offensive led to the winning goal in the final minute. Camavinga received the ball in the penalty area from Federico Valverde and passed on Rodrygo, who suddenly took the ball from the air and successfully completed it.
Sheriff Tiraspol – Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0
Sheriff became the first team in the Champions League with a starting team without any experience in the billion-dollar ball since AEK Athens against Ajax in August 2018. Still, the Moldovan underdog from Group D, which also includes Internazionale and Real Madrid, took the lead after fifteen minutes. Adama Traoré, not to be confused with his namesake who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers, successfully took the ball out of the air around the penalty spot after Cristiano’s cross from the left wing. The ball seemed tenable for Andriy Pyatov, but the goalkeeper couldn’t get his fists against it. The detached substitute Momo Yansane even made it 2-0 after more than an hour; again a cross from Cristiano preceded the goal.