Inter suffer third successive group stage elimination
ByReuters
Updated 09/12/2020 at 22:32 GMT
Champions League, San Siro: Inter Milan 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 0
Romelu Lukaku of FC Internazionale looks dejected during the UEFA Champions League Group B stage match between FC Internazionale and Shakhtar Donetsk at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 9, 2020 in Milan, Italy.
Image credit: Getty Images
Inter Milan were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage for the third season in a row on Wednesday after being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Shakhtar Donetsk, who were also eliminated.
Lautaro Martinez rattled the crossbar in the seventh minute of the Group B match but Inter created few chances after that, despite dominating possession at a soggy San Siro, and mustered only four efforts on target.
Shakhtar finished level with Borussia Monchengladbach on eight points but lost out to the Bundesliga side -- beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid -- on their head-to-head record to finish third and will go into the Europa League instead.
Inter, who could have gone through with a win, finished bottom of the group with six points after drawing three of their six games and will not even have the consolation of the second-string competition.
Real won the group with 10 points.
Inter, who thumped Shakhtar 5-0 in last season's Europa League semi-finals in August, needed to win to qualify and also to see the other match, between Real Madrid and Borussia Monchengladbach, not end in a draw.
Martinez nearly got the early breakthrough they needed but his shot thumped against the crossbar from Nicolo Barella's cross.
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After that, Inter forced a succession of corners and tried their luck from long range but gave Shakhtar's 19-year-old goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin little to do.
Romelu Lukaku saw a header stopped by Trubin after the break before Shakhtar began to mount some attacks of their own.
Tete, one of six Brazilian-born players in Shakhtar's starting line-up, tested Samir Handanovic with a fizzing long-range shot and Maycon sent the rebound over the bar.
Trubin pushed a Christian Eriksen drive out from under the bar in stoppage time as Inter's European season came to an underwhelming conclusion.
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