Champions League – Augusto scores the winning goal as 10-man Inter Milan defeat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0

In the third round of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan hosted Shakhtar Donetsk. Thanks to a crucial goal from Carlos Augusto, they ultimately secured a thrilling 1-0 victory despite playing with ten men.

After this match, Inter Milan took a slight lead from the start. In the 3rd minute, Ange-Yoan Bony passed the ball back inside the penalty area, and Marcus Thuram's low shot was saved by Dmitro Riznik. In the 5th minute, Nicolo Barella delivered a cross from the attacking third, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu's long-range shot went just wide. In the 21st minute, Manuel Akanji played a long pass from midfield to Bony, whose shot inside the penalty area was blocked by Riznik.

In the latter part of the first half, Shakhtar Donetsk also launched several threatening attacks. In the 40th minute, Yekhol Nazarina delivered a corner kick from the right, and Valery Bondar's header from the center of the penalty area was brilliantly saved by Josep Martinez. In the 44th minute, Nazarina's corner kick again caused a scramble in the penalty area, and Oleg Ocheretko took a shot amidst the chaos, but it went slightly wide.

The second half began with both sides switching ends. In the 60th minute, Petar Sučić broke through the middle and passed the ball to the left side of the penalty area. Bony adjusted slightly and curled a shot, which was easily saved by Riznik. In the 66th minute, Barella's diagonal pass from midfield found Thuram on the left wing. Thuram broke through to the edge of the penalty area and curled a shot, which was again saved by Riznik.

In the 69th minute, Alessandro Bastoni pushed Ocheretko in the penalty area, causing him to fall, and was subsequently shown a second yellow card and sent off. Inter Milan had to play with ten men for more than 20 minutes, but surprisingly took the lead in the 77th minute: Henrich Mkhitaryan delivered a precise long pass from midfield, and Augusto chested the ball down before breaking into the penalty area and scoring one-on-one. In the 84th minute, Thuram broke through on the right wing and delivered a cross, but the unmarked Mkhitaryan missed a scoring opportunity due to taking too many adjustments.

Neither side managed to score again. At the final whistle, Inter Milan, playing with one less player, trailed Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0.

Image source: Internet/Inter Milan official website