The first chill of October barely registered at San Siro. For a spell, the stadium was boiling over with adrenaline and intensity, as emotions spilled into the air in the 77th minute of Inter's match against Shakhtar. On the pitch, the team were hungry and desperate for the win. Their determination swept through the Nerazzurri supporters in the stands, turning the Meazza into a cauldron. These are Champions League nights, when the pressure is palpable and everything is magnified. In the closing stages, winning the ball back can feel like scoring a goal, while winning a throw-in can get the crowd to their feet as if it were a defence-splitting assist. Inter know all about it: nights like these are part of our DNA. After losing their first two games, Inter claimed their first three points in Europe following a hard-fought and demanding contest against an organised Shakhtar side packed with quality. Once again, the goal came from Carlos Augusto. A surging run straight through the heart of the pitch, a visionary assist from Mkhitaryan: the ball hitting the net was like a flash of lightning tearing through the storm clouds above the stadium, a moment that transformed Inter's European campaign. And then there were Pepo's hands, making one save, then another, then a third to preserve the result. Barella and Thuram ran after every opponent, fully aware of how much was at stake.
A night of struggle and joy, a game that reignites Inter's Champions League campaign. Here are five snapshots to relive the clash with Shakhtar.
PEPO'S SAVES
Inter's first half was far from straightforward. Shakhtar were well organised, playing with confidence and quality: players and ball moving intelligently, switches of play, wingers taking on their markers one-on-one and runners breaking through the middle. Inter looked to apply their usual pressure in the opening stages, but as the minutes passed, they were forced to drop deeper and close down the spaces. The result was a tight first half, with few clear openings at either end. The most dangerous chance, however, fell to the Ukrainian side from a corner in the 40th minute. Bondar rose superbly and powered a header towards goal. The ball was on target and bounced right in front of Martinez, who produced an extraordinary reflex save to claw it away virtually on the line. Falling behind just before half-time would have been a major blow, but Martinez's intervention allowed Inter to head into the dressing room on level terms. The Spanish goalkeeper came to the rescue again late in the game, standing firm as Shakhtar threw everything forward. In the 87th minute, Newertton unleashed a right-footed shot from a tight angle. A curling effort towards the far post might have been expected, but instead he struck firmly towards the near post. Pepo reacted in a flash, dropping low to turn the ball behind for a corner. From the resulting set piece, Matviyenko got ahead of everyone at the near post and redirected the ball towards goal, only to be denied by Martinez once again. At full-time, he embraced Carlos Augusto, the scorer of the winning goal. But his decisive saves were just as valuable.
SUBSTITUTIONS, CHAOS, THE STADIUM
Five minutes in which so much happened, five minutes that changed the game. The tide turned, and the atmosphere shifted with it. As against Bologna, the substitutions gave Inter fresh impetus. A spark to lift the team and inject new tempo into their play. Bisseck, Diouf and Zielinski came on in the 59th minute, with Carlos Augusto taking up the left flank and the Frenchman on the right, while the German defender retained his usual freedom to make forward runs through the middle. Just a minute later, the three combined to create a chance for Inter: Diouf slipped the ball to Bisseck, whose effort was blocked at the last moment by the defence. Inter raised the tempo, and San Siro began to heat up. But the momentum had already started to shift a few minutes earlier. In the 54th minute, Alisson Santana tried to beat Dimarco down the flank. Thuram tracked back to provide cover and brought him down. A brief scuffle followed, with a few shoves exchanged, and Tikus was booked. It was a moment that fired up both the team and the crowd, raising the intensity and sending adrenaline levels soaring. From then on, the noise inside San Siro grew louder with every challenge, every ball won back and every chance. An emotional switch had been flicked, setting Inter on course for victory.
THE CARLOS EXPRESS
Inter had been down to ten men for a few minutes, but the game remained wide open. The clock showed 76'14" when Carlos Augusto, with one foot inside his own box and the other on the line, intercepted an attempted through ball. Thirteen seconds later, he was in the Shakhtar penalty area, beating Riznyk with a left-footed outside-of-the-boot finish worthy of a seasoned striker. Those thirteen seconds captured everything about Carlos Augusto and summed up his outstanding start to the season. His goal against Shakhtar was his fourth of the campaign, already taking him past his personal best for goals in a single season. It was also his second in the Champions League, following his strike against Real Madrid, making him the third defender in Inter's history to score in consecutive Champions League matches after Facchetti (1967) and Dumfries (2025). It was his second goal in four days, following his strike in the league against Bologna. The goal came at the end of a lightning-fast counter-attack, started by Carlos Augusto himself. From one penalty area to the other in just thirteen seconds, with touches from Zielinski and Mkhitaryan along the way, before a superb first touch and an outstanding finish. It was a blistering, relentless run that left the Shakhtar defence unable to respond, fuelled by a San Siro crowd that erupted as the ball hit the net. Carlos slid across the turf and was immediately mobbed by his teammates, while the roar of the crowd swept away the cold and the fear. "We weren't afraid," he said after the match, despite being a man down and having lost their first two games. The Carlos express had swept those fears away.
MKHI'S MOMENT OF MAGIC
Another gem to add to an already impressive collection, another wonderful piece of skill to decide a game. Mkhitaryan seems to operate on a different clock, not only because of his longevity but also because of the way he reads situations on the pitch. Inter broke forward after Carlos won the ball back and Zielinski played the pass that set Mkhitaryan away before being brought down. The Armenian drifted towards the left touchline, but his head remained up, constantly scanning the movements of opponents and teammates. Carlos Augusto's run split the pitch and the Shakhtar defence in two, as he surged through the middle to attack a high defensive line. Mkhi judged the timing to perfection. With his feet almost on the touchline, he produced a delicate, perfectly weighted left-footed pass that sailed over Bondar and dropped beautifully onto Carlos's chest. It was reminiscent of Bologna, where the Armenian's through ball had led to the Brazilian setting up Bonny. Mkhi was there again, and once again he made the difference. After the match, Barella said: "Henrikh is like wine: he gets better with age." It is very difficult to argue with that.
THURAM AND BARELLA'S WORK RATE
Once Inter had taken the lead, they had to give everything in the closing stages to protect their 1-0 advantage. With ten men, there were more spaces to cover, but Inter remained compact and solid. In that respect, two players seemed capable of covering several areas of the pitch at once. It was a tireless display of hard work and defensive cover, driven by a clear understanding of what was at stake. Marcus Thuram was everywhere, pressing opponents and cutting off passing lanes. One duel after another, one sprint after another, he refused to leave an opening. In the 84th minute, he still had the strength and composure to attack a ball played in behind, win the physical battle and send Mkhitaryan through towards the opposition goal. The same could be said of Barella, who kept his head up in stoppage time, holding on to possession, carrying the ball forward and running down precious seconds. Two examples of leadership, determination and the will to win.
