Game-tying tradition

After the first round both teams got no points, therefore they set themselves up for the meeting as seriously as possible. In the previous edition of this competiton, the rivals also met at the group stage, with both legs ending in 0-0 ties. Roberto De Zerbi again made several changes in the starting lineup compared to previous games: Maycon and Stepanenko formed a midfield pairing, with Pedrinho, Alan Patrick, Solomon and Traore being responsible for attacking this time.

End-to-end action

The opening part of the match caused the most contrasting emotions among more than 26,000 fans present at the NSC Olimpiyskiy. The chance of Manor Solomon who fired the ball from outside the penalty area just inches off the post, has given the crowd some hope for spectacular football, but just a few minutes later their mood changed: Lassina Traore collided with Dumfries, was heavily injured and left the pitch on a stretcher. Tete came on for the Burkinian. While the Miners were changing formation, the visitors created their first scoring chance - Barella shook the crossbar with his effort. The teams continued their end-to-end endeavour exchanging attempts. Following Solomon's pass, Patrick's kick was blocked by Dzeko, with Tete's finish going wide. In response, Lautaro decided to unleash a long-ranger only to see it whizz slightly high. Pedrinho also fired it high, as well as Dzeko who failed to plant his teammate’s cross home from just a couple of metres away from target.

Wasted chances

The second half also began with an excellent opportunity for the Miners: Pedrinho flicked it towards the unguarded net while trying to finish off Dodo’s cross, but Skrinjar rescued the Milanese outfit by leaping and stopping the ball nearly on the goal line. At that moment, Shakhtar had a clear initiative, but the Italian defenders blocked Solomon's cannon shot and Alan Patrick's splitting pass. However, in the second half of the match, Inter players also began to threaten Shakhtar’s goal. Martinez was close to making a good use of the Donetsk side's gift in the penalty area, but shot much higher. In the end of the match, Andriy Pyatov made two spectacular saves: the host goalkeeper parried away Correa’s tough attempt before preventing de Vrij from scoring a corner. 0-0 - Shakhtar and Inter have not revealed the stronger side again.

The Miners will play their next Champions League match against Real Madrid in Kyiv on October 19. This coming Sunday of October 3, Roberto De Zerbi's men will face a league match against Dynamo. The meeting at the NSC Olimpiyskiy kicks off at 19:30.

Shakhtar Donetsk 0-0 (0-0) Inter Milan

Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, att: 26,170

Shakhtar: Pyatov (c), Dodo, Marlon, Matviienko, Ismaily (Kryvtsov, 78’), Maycon, Stepanenko, Pedrinho, Patrick (Marlos, 85’), Solomon (Mudryk, 78’), Traore (Tete, 11’)