The Milan giants went half-and-half! Inter thrashed Crvena Zvezda 4-0 behind Calhanoglu’s free-kick screamer and Arnautovic, Martinez, and Taremi’s goals, bringing the first victory to Nerazzurri in the Champions League. On the other hand, AC Milan lost to Leverkusen 1-0. The match winner was the Nigerian Victor Boniface, who netted in the 51st minute for Lever’s second UCL triumph.10 – Bayer 04 Leverkusen have been unbeaten in 10 home matches in major European competitions (W7 D3) – a new club record. Fortress. pic.twitter.com/KWhMBbnp5r— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) October 1, 2024 Bayer Leverkusen were definitely favourites at their BayArena against AC Milan, but Rossoneri’s motivation after the triumph in Derby della Madonina could not have been neglected. Still, Xabi Alonso’s boys threatened first after only three minutes through the defender Piero Hincapie, whose header Mike Maignan terrifically saved, justifying Milan’s management’s wish to extend his contract. The home team’s domination led to Victor Boniface’s opener, which was eventually disallowed since Amine Adli was flagged for offside.Paulo Fonseca’s crew managed to catch a breath after Bayer’s initial pressure, but the home team was still in charge. Moreover, the Italian side noted the first attempt on goal after 40 minutes?! At that point, Leverkusen already had six on target and nine in total! Anyway, the Rossoneri held out during the first 45 minutes and awaited the break with a level score – 0-0.The same 22 players ran out to the pitch in the second half, and the same situation continued – Lever’s absolute domination. In the 48th minute, Maignan once again prevented the home team from taking the lead, saving Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong’s efforts. Yet, even the Frenchman was not omnipotent. If the first one was disallowed, the second one had to stand! Boniface netted the rebound after Frimpong’s strike in the 51st minute, bringing the longed opener to Bayer – 1-0!Fonseca immediately reacted with a sub, replacing Tammy Abraham with Alvaro Morata. As if the opener relaxed Alonso’s men too much, Milan took control of the game after the goal, making eight shot attempts half an hour after the break. But in vain, the leveller still was not on the horizon. The Spanish strategist made his first subs only 15 minutes before the end, sending Martin Terrier and Robert Andrich in for Boniface and Aleix Garcia.Until the end of the game there were not many excitements. Moreover, apart from several subs, Morata’s request for a penalty, and Milan’s desperate attempts to snatch at least a point, we did not see any notable moments. Alonso and his men managed to secure the triumph quite easily, and, especially based on the first-half performances, Leverkusen’s triumphs could have been more convincing.At least, Nyayo and Kasarani will survive: Milan and Inter want to destroy their iconic San SiroEven though Simone Inzaghi’s tactic without Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram, and Federico Dimarco – arguably Inter Milan’s best players so far this season – in the XI seemed risky, the Nerazzurri broke the deadlock already after 11 minutes through Hakan Calhanoglu’s magnificent free-kick effort! Although the impression is that Crvena Zvezda’s custodian Omri Glazer could have reacted better, the Turk superbly made it 1-0. It’s worth mentioning that before and after the opener, VAR disallowed Marko Arnautovic and Denzel Dumfries’ goals due to offsides.The 22nd minute brought another chance for the home team, but Glazer was more cautious this time, stopping Henrikh Mkhitaryan one-on-one. The squad from Belgrade mainly threatened from distance through the 17-year-old Andrija Maksimovic, whose two attempts went narrowly off target. The Armenian had another massive chance in the 39th minute, but the epilogue was the same as before, only he missed the target this time. Three minutes later, Zvezda awaited their first colossal opportunity through DR Congo international Silas but Yann Sommer made a terrific stop to keep Inter in front at the break.1 – Before Hakan Çalhanoglu’s goal, Inter had not scored from a direct free kick in the Champions League since April 6, 2010 against CSKA Moscow (Wesley Sneijder in that case). Accurate.#InterStellaRossa #UCL— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 1, 2024 Crvena Zvezda held out during the initial 15 minutes of the second period, looking even better than the Nerazzurri at certain points. But then the Serbian side practically gifted the second to Inter – precisely, former AC Milan midfielder Rade Krunic did! The 30-year-old lost the ball to Mehdi Taremi near his own box, which resulted in Marko Arnautovic’s close-range goal for 2-0. Minutes later, Glazer saved two massive opportunities for the Austrian and Carlos Augusto.Marko Arnautović scoreshis first goal of the season and doubles #Inter’s lead! ⚽️🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/alwheprXPI— Inter Xtra (@Inter_Xtra) October 1, 2024 After the second goal, Inzaghi decided to refresh his ranks subbing Lautaro Martinez, Francesco Acerbi, and Davide Frattesi in for Arnautovic, Stefan de Vrij, and Mkhitaryan. Zvezda boss Vladan Milojevic answered a couple of minutes later by replacing Maksimovic, Silas, and Cherif Ndiaye with Nemanja Radonjic, Bruno Duarte, and Luka Ilic. Still, his team conceded another after another mistake. Again Taremi stole the ball, Zvezda’s captain Uros Spajic made a severe error, and Inter’s skipper, Martinez crowned his entrance with a goal for 3-0.Lautaro Martínez GOAL to make it three! Great assist from Mehdi Taremi- his second on the night. 🇦🇷⚽️ pic.twitter.com/MubVs7e5gM— Inter Xtra (@Inter_Xtra) October 1, 2024 Taremi’s first goal! One goal and two assists, what a performance!pic.twitter.com/LfkVvsh5X1— F.C. InterData (@Fcinterdata) October 1, 2024 The away team’s catastrophe continued in the 78th minute when first Vanja Drkusic took Lautaro down in the box and Taremi sent it home for 4-0. As of that moment, both teams just waited for the ref’s final whistle. As expected – but perhaps more convincingly than expected – Inter grabbed the first victory in this Champions League edition, while Crvena Zvezda remained without points after the second consecutive loss in the competition.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 2TuesdaySalzburg – Brest 0-4 (0-1)/Sima 24, 70, Camara 66, Lage 76/Stuttgart – Sparta Praha 1-1 (1-1)/Millot 7 – Kairinen 32/Leverkusen – Milan 1-0 (0-0)/Boniface 51/Dortmund – Celtic 7-1 (5-1)/Can 8 pen, Adeyemi 11, 29, 42, Guirassy 40 pen, Nmecha 79 – Maeda 9/Barcelona – Young Boys 5-0 (3-0)/Lewandowski 8,51, Raphinha 34, Martinez 37, Camara 81 og/Inter – Crvena Zvezda 4-0 (1-0)/Calhanoglu 11, Arnautovic 59, Martinez 71, Taremi 81 pen/Arsenal – PSG 2-0 (2-0)/Havertz 20, Saka 35/Slovan B. – Man.City 0-4 (0-2)/Gundogan 8, Foden 15, Haaland 58, Mcatee 74/PSV – Sporting 1-1 (1-0)/Schouten 15 – Braganca 83/Wednesday19:45: (2.10) Girona (3.60) Feyenoord (3.60)19:45: (5.30) Shakhtar (3.60) Atalanta (1.70)22:00: (5.30) Dinamo Zagreb (3.60) Monaco (1.70)22:00: (6.00) Lille (4.10) Real Madrid (1.55)22:00: (3.00) Benfica (3.45) Atl.Madrid (2.50)22:00: (4.60) Aston Villa (3.80) Bayern (1.75)22:00: (2.40) RB Leipzig (3.45) Juventus (3.15)22:00: (1.20) Liverpool (6.75) Bologna (14.0)22:00: (2.80) Sturm (3.40) Club Brugge (2.65)***odds are subject to change***
