Manchester City's start to the new Champions League season at home against Inter was a 0-0 draw, with Yann Sommer the main culprit.
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- Manchester City and Inter Milan drew goalless in the rematch of the 2023 final.
- There were no goals to be seen in the clash between the English and Italian champions at the Etihad Stadium. If City managed to get through Inter's defense once with their superiority, Yann Sommer was the end of the line.
- When asked about his team's attitude, Sommer made a curious baby comparison and spoke about the additional burden of the new Champions League mode.
At the start of the new Champions League season, Inter Milan held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw away from home. After four wins in the English league and the Super Cup title, this was the first time this season that Manchester City failed to win a competitive match.
In the clash between the Italian and English champions, Manchester City had more of the ball after the break following a varied first half and exerted a lot of pressure, but were unable to convert their superiority into a goal. City stars De Bruyne, Foden, Gvardiol and Gündogan all failed to score against Yann Sommer.
In the end, the Swiss keeper had five saves to his name. A clean sheet at the Etihad is a rarity for a visiting goalkeeper.
It was only the second time in 42 home matches in the top flight under Pep Guardiola that Manchester City failed to score a goal (after Sporting Lisbon in March 2022).
The former Bundesliga player (Gladbach, Bayern) particularly likes the mentality of his front men at the Nerazzurri. "Everyone defends the goal like there's a baby in it," Sommer praised at the press conference.
The "Gazzetta dello Sport" gives Sommer a score of 7 (out of a possible 10) for his performance and writes: "In the end, Inter form a chain. Sommer is the protagonist on four occasions, with interventions of varying difficulty".
Sommer on Inter's performance - and additional workload
"In the end, it's a good point," Sommer says in an interview with blue Sport. "We were very compact against the ball, kept the spaces very tight and were well organized. That's very important against Manchester City, that you give them few spaces where they can get inside and turn," the 35-year-old noted. His team also had "two or three opportunities" in the match that could have led to goals. In the end, the "right decision was missing" on the counter-attacks, summarized Sommer.
The new Champions League mode puts even more pressure on the players. But Sommer hasn't "thought too much about how it all works", he admits. "I've seen our opponents and now we're just going through this campaign. We're trying to get as many points as possible. Champions League is Champions League. That was a great game, in a great stadium, good atmosphere. There's something about the games," said the veteran, emphasizing the importance of the competition.
But there are "a lot of games", especially when you're at a club that takes part in many competitions and you also play for the national team. Although he has a "different workload" as a goalkeeper than the outfield players, Sommer warns: "It's a lot of work and it's clear that you always need a break in between. I hope that we as players also get that".
At least Sommer can watch his appearances for the national team from the comfort of his sofa. The father of two recently announced his retirement from the SFA team after 94 appearances. His successor Gregor Kobel was also able to save BVB's clean sheet in Bruges. Incidentally, only two goalkeepers have prevented any goals for the Citizens in Man City's last 19 matches in the Champions League: Kobel and Sommer.
The two Swiss goalkeepers also score almost equally well in the popular football video game "EA Sports FC" (formerly FIFA). Dortmund keeper Kobel received an 88 (out of a possible 100), while Inter goalie Sommer was rated 87, just one point behind.
