(PRIMASPORT) MILAN – With 10 men against 11, Inter earned their first Champions League points by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at San Siro. Carlos Augusto's 77th-minute goal proved decisive, as he flawlessly finished off a perfect counterattack with textbook control following a pass from Mkhitaryan. Initially deployed as a left-back by Chivu, Carlo Augusto moved to the midfield and became the key player in the match. Alessandro Bastoni certainly wasn't, due to obvious naivety, picking up a yellow card in the 66th minute and a second in the 68th for pushing an opponent in the penalty area. For 60 minutes, Inter remained inactive. Chivu resorted to substitutions and, after Bastoni's blunder, replaced Bonny with Mkhitaryan. A decisive move. After setting up Carlos Augusto, Mkhitaryan squandered the chance to double the lead. In the closing stages, Inter owed a great deal to goalkeeper Martinez, who with two crucial saves prevented Shakhtar from equalizing. A difficult match was resolved at the most critical moment.
“"We had a good approach, then we started to get a bit worried," Chivu commented. "I think the defeats in the Champions League have left their mark. We needed a serious, organized match after a difficult first half. The three substitutions provided enthusiasm and energy. With ten men, we showed that we know how to suffer, raising our level of concentration and energy. When you're down to ten men, it's never easy; it was already difficult to win the ball back with eleven men. We rolled up our sleeves, made a few more runs, some different runs, raising the level of responsibility and energy. The boys were eager, I hope this match restores confidence and enthusiasm for the upcoming European matches. I care about all my goalkeepers; they're excellent, and I can't be drastic in passing judgments for errors: the goalkeeper always gets the headlines, but my job is to instill serenity and confidence, to Pepo as well as to the others. It always takes everyone's help, and sometimes patience. Mkhitaryan has experience and energy that are an example to everyone in terms of how he trains and how he performs." It entails, but I want to reward everyone, even those who didn't come on: I'm thinking of Pio, with ten men we needed more depth and we decided to keep Marcus on the pitch, today we're tired because we wanted to win it even without playing well, it's a success that is worth a lot." (PRIMASPORT)
