Mkhitaryan chases away the nightmares of an extremely complicated evening: with a precise cross he launches the run of Carlos Augusto, who converts the advantage into a goal in the 77th minute. It is the goal that breaks the 0-0 and gives Inter three extremely precious points against Shakhtar, obtained moreover while being outnumbered for over twenty minutes. San Siro celebrates almost incredulously, as the match report itself writes.

The match had slipped in a dangerous direction well before the final whistle. Bastoni, deployed as a central defender in the trio with Akanji and Carlos Augusto — a choice by Chivu — receives two yellow cards within a few minutes and leaves his teammates down to ten men for the last 25 minutes. He himself, in the hours before the match, had emphasized how the challenge was “fundamental” in order not to already find themselves with their backs against the wall after three days of the League Phase.

The first half was short on emotions, but not on dangers. The Nerazzurri created the first two chances within the opening two minutes: Thuram came close to scoring after a mistake by Ocheretko, then Calhanoglu tried with the same result. Bonny, another new face of the evening, missed the target from a corner and saw his shot blocked by Riznyk on another occasion. Shakhtar responded with Pedrinho — who was then forced to leave due to a physical problem — and especially with a header from Bondar that seemed destined for the net, neutralized by a great save from Martinez. The first half ended goalless, with the emblematic image of Carlos Augusto spreading his arms because no one was pressing the opponent in possession.

In the second half, the script did not change. Vinicius Tobias’s shot from the edge of the area sounded the alarm, and Chivu reacted before the hour mark by bringing on three players at once: Diouf, Bisseck, and Zielinski in place of Spence, Dimarco, and Calhanoglu. The setup changed and the pace of the game shifted. Thuram tested the goalkeeper with a curling shot that seemed destined for the net, but the turning point came with Bastoni’s second yellow card. Chivu also took off Sucic, already booked, and brought on Luis Henrique, reshaping into a 4-3-1-1. Mkhitaryan also came on for an exhausted Bonny.

It was the Armenian himself, a former player of the match, who unlocked the result in the 77th minute with the assist for the goal by Carlos Augusto. In the final minutes, Luis Henrique launched Thuram, who set up Mkhitaryan in front of goal: the Armenian got tangled up and missed the possible second goal. Martinez sealed the win by saving two opposing shots at the end. At the final whistle, San Siro celebrated a victory that tasted like collective relief.

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