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in the early morning of september 19th, beijing time, the second match day of the first phase of the 2024-2025 uefa champions league staged a "champion battle". last season's premier league champion manchester city faced last season's serie a champion inter milan at the etihad stadium. after 90 minutes of fierce battle, the two teams drew, and manchester city also lost midfield core de bruyne.

the last time the two teams met was in the 2022-2023 champions league final. at that time, the "blue moon" relied on midfielder rodri's goal to win the first champions league trophy in team history with a 1-0 victory.

in this rematch, manchester city attacked, while inter milan used counterattacks to deal with the opponent. facing inter milan's excellent defense, the norwegian star haaland, who has been "killing all sides" in the league recently, returned without success many times, and the team's offense was also restricted. at the same time, inter milan's efficient counterattack also made manchester city afraid to press forward with all their strength. in the end, manchester city had 22 shots in the whole game, while inter milan had 13 shots in the whole game but failed to score. this "championship battle" ended 0-0.

"inter milan is a team with excellent defense." after the game, manchester city coach guardiola praised the opponent who took 1 point from the etihad stadium. "when the opponent's 11 players retreat very deep, it is difficult for us to create too many opportunities. but i am very satisfied with the team's performance. i like everything the players did." manchester city's defensive general dias also said that inter milan is strong and the two top teams played a fierce game. "in fact, we almost scored a goal, but now we need to accept this result and keep looking forward."

what is more difficult for manchester city to accept than the draw is de bruyne's injury. before the end of the first half, the belgian star felt discomfort in his leg after a shot and was replaced after the halftime break. according to the schedule, manchester city will face its strong rival arsenal in the premier league on the evening of september 22, beijing time. some british media said that de bruyne might miss this focus match.

manchester city suffered heavy losses and failed to take all three points at home. inter milan, who escaped unscathed from the away game with tight defense and resilience, gained confidence. coach inzaghi said: "i congratulated the boys immediately. they played very well and the whole team was united. in fact, we had the opportunity to break manchester city's goal, especially in the first half, we played better."

it is worth mentioning that inter milan will also face a crucial battle in the league this weekend - at the early morning of september 23rd, beijing time, they will face the first round of the "milan derby" this season at home. midfielder barella said that the away game against the powerful manchester city team gave the team confidence, and they will try their best to win all three points against their city rivals.

source: beijing sports

reporter: zhao xiaosong