Carlos Augusto strikes, Martínez protects the lead

Reduced to ten men after the sending-off of Alessandro Bastoni, Inter beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0 at San Siro on Wednesday 21 October. Carlos Augusto scored from a Henrikh Mkhitaryan pass, and Josep Martínez then protected the lead. It was a precious first European win for the Milanese, but it came in a match that was anything but a display of control.

Inter needed points and took three. That explains the relief; it does not tell the whole story of the performance. Playing ten against eleven, the Milanese found the right attack, then held out. Before that, they had also lacked efficiency and lost some of their grip. The win deserves to be applauded with the same precision as the shortcomings that made it so hard.

Inter found openings in the opening exchanges. Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny tested Dmytro Riznyk, while Hakan Çalhanoglu also looked for a way through. The Milanese were trying to move quickly after winning the ball and to use the flanks to feed their strikers. The approach produced chances, but not the breakthrough they wanted.

Shakhtar gradually coped better with that pressure. The visitors refused to spend the whole match defending their own area. They moved the ball around, found link-up players and forced Josep Martínez into action, notably with a header from Valeriy Bondar. That response puts a limit on the idea of an Inter side who simply had to wait for their goal: the opposition had their own weapons to score.

At the break, 0–0 left the match open. Inter had created situations they could regret not having converted. Shakhtar, for their part, had gained enough confidence in their play to believe in a result. The second half would therefore demand more than a simple repeat of Inter's start.

Cristian Chivu made several changes around the hour mark. Andy Diouf, Piotr Zielinski and Yann Bisseck brought fresh options. But the match turned on an incident that had nothing to do with poor finishing: Bastoni picked up a second booking and left Inter with ten men in the 68th minute.

The defender committed a lapse in discipline that cost his team dearly. With the game still at 0–0, Inter needed clarity to build an advantage. Instead they had to devote part of their resources to making up for an avoidable numerical disadvantage. The final result does not make that red card an insignificant detail.

Shakhtar then had a chance to tilt the match their way. Having an extra player, however, does not excuse a team from protecting the space when they lose the ball. It was precisely on a quick attack that the Ukrainians were punished, even though the numerical advantage should have helped them contain the Milanese raids better.

Introduced for Bonny in the 75th minute, Mkhitaryan quickly made his mark. From a transition started by Zielinski, the Armenian found Carlos Augusto, who beat Riznyk in the 77th minute. The quality of the pass and the defender's run gave Inter a tangible way out of their difficulties: a move carried through to the end just when they looked most constrained.

Carlos Augusto did not merely push forward to provide one more option. He finished the move and scored the only goal. In a game this tight, taking that responsibility changed the story of the whole evening. It is also a reminder that a defender can be decisive with a well-timed arrival, without the team needing to create chance after chance.

Inter then protected their lead, with Martínez playing a major part. The goalkeeper dealt with Shakhtar's late chances, notably from Newertton and then Mykola Matviyenko. The Milanese held on until the final whistle. Shakhtar can regret not making the most of their numerical superiority; they cannot say they never had the chances to equalise.

Inter finish with 13 shots to 12 and five attempts on target to four. Corners go five to four in the Milanese's favour. These narrow margins describe a competitive match in which the victory did not come from a massive advantage in volume. One successful move and the ability to defend afterwards made the difference.

Both goalkeepers made four saves. Riznyk stopped Inter from converting several of their chances; Martínez denied Shakhtar the chance to convert theirs. The scoreline should not erase the quality of the Ukrainian goalkeeper, who also kept his team in the match.

Thuram put both of his shots on target, Bonny two of his three attempts, without either of them scoring. Their return therefore calls for a more nuanced reading than a simple condemnation of the strikers: they made Riznyk work, but did not supply the goal that would have eased the team's nerves. Carlos Augusto, for his part, converted his only attempt.

Inter take their first three points in this league phase after two opening defeats. Shakhtar stay on four. For Milan, the immediate benefit is essential: the European campaign is up and running again, and the team showed they could find an answer even after a setback.

What follows will have to rest on more than resilience and the goalkeeper's saves, however. Inter must convert their chances earlier, keep their composure and avoid the mistakes that unbalance the whole team. This win is a relaunch. To become a solid foundation, it will have to be followed by more consistent play.

Watch the goals and the main chances in the video highlights provided by Inter TV.