After how well Manchester City have started this season, they might have been expected to put in another blockbuster performance against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
However, that was far from the case, with City’s 0-0 draw against Inter Milan being their first group game in Europe’s elite competition where they shared the spoils in five years.
With the campaign still into its early days, Pep Guardiola’s side are yet to hit top gear.
Perhaps the same can be said about Inter Milan, considering they have drawn their last two games.
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Shock Etihad Stadium stat emerges after Man City drew to Inter Milan
Both teams displayed flashes of brilliance on Wednesday night.
In the first half, Inter Milan caused the hosts plenty of problems defensively.
However, in the second half, City were in the ascendancy for the most part.
By the end of the game, a draw could be considered a fair result, even though the English giants had the better goalscoring chances.
As per Opta Joe on X, Inter Milan had 10 shots in the first half against Manchester City – with AS Monaco in February 2017 being the last team to record 10 plus shots in the opening half of a Champions League game at the Etihad Stadium.
Why Man City conceded so many shots against Inter Milan
There were plenty of reasons why City conceded as many shots as they did against Inter Milan, especially in the first half.
Firstly, the visitors played through Manchester City’s press with ease.
The Sky Blues players could not get tight enough on their Inter Milan counterparts, who also possessed the technical quality to exploit any space they afforded.
Secondly, Manchester City were especially sloppy on the ball in the first half against the Serie A winners.
As a result, they gifted Inter Milan plenty of chances to hurt them on the counter-attack.
City’s first-half display would have given Pep Guardiola plenty of food for thought ahead of his side’s upcoming clash against Arsenal.
