September 16, (THEWILL) – Thibaut Courtois’ sharp reflexes and a dramatic late goal by Rodrygo gave Real Madrid a huge but slim 1-0 win away at Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
In one of Europe’s most iconic football grounds, the meeting of two giants of the game raised expectations and the fixture only disappointed in terms of goal chances not seized upon.
The home side dictated the game’s pace for large portions of the first half, getting in between the lines with neat interchanges of passes that caused Madrid all sorts of problems.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side had one thing going for them and it was most significant: Real looked very dangerous on the counter-attack. One of these counter-attacks led to a corner kick that Éder Militão got to butcould not guide into the net.
The pendulum of opportunities to score swung to the other end. However, the combination of Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martínez, who both consistently kept Courtois busy, could not do more than that as the Belgian keeper kept Madrid in the game with series of saves.
Madrid became more dominant in the second half as they held the ball for longer periods while threatening to find a way through Samir Handanovic in the Inter goal post. For all their pressing, it was Inter that almost opened the scoring through Dzeko.
The positional excellence and all-round experienced goalkeeping ensured that Courtois was at the right place to make a crucial save that kept Dzeko’s name off the scoresheet.
The pressure placed on the Italian side by Real was toughening but as Inter rode on their performance and good fortune, many fans began to calculate how the group will stack up after a goalless tie, and that was when things changed in Real’s favour.
The introduction of new signing Eduard Camavinga into the fray was inspiring. His run into the box and lobbed pass to Rodrygo, who hit a one-time volley to break Italian hearts, gave the visitors all three points.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
