Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi was surprised by the referee's decision to decline their first-half penalty shout for a Sadio Mane handball in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich.
The Nerazzurri were denied a penalty in the 10th minute despite referee Ivan Kruzliak consulting VAR when Mane appeared to raise his arms to block Nicolo Barella's goal-bound shot.
Despite Inter's early pressure, Bayern took the lead from Benjamin Pavard's 32nd-minute header, before Eric Maxim Choupo-Mating settled the points with a long-range 72nd-minute strike.
The match had no consequence on placings in Group C, with both sides already locked in for the last-16, but Inzaghi was still surprised by the referee's call on the Mane handball.
"The penalty? It had never happened to me that a referee recalled by the VAR turned it down," Inzaghi said.
Despite that, Inzaghi was delighted with his side for progressing in a group featuring Spanish giants Barcelona, who finished third.
"We've progressed from a difficult group, achieving something that makes us really happy," he said.
"This evening, we played well against a really strong side. We had a few chances to take the lead, and there was also the penalty that wasn't given.
"We were then punished for our first lapse in concentration. However, the team did well. We were able to rotate the squad, which is something we got out of it."
Inzaghi said the Nerazzurri would quickly turn their focus back to Serie A, with three games prior to the World Cup break, starting with a tough trip to Juventus on Sunday.
The 2021 Italian champions are currently sixth in Serie A, eight points behind leaders Napoli, but in the midst of a four-game winning streak.
"We fought hard for this qualification and will see what happens in February to enjoy the tournament, but for now we need to focus on Serie A," Inzaghi said.
"We are coming off four consecutive victories, but we dropped a lot of points early, we know that the fixture list is not simple for us until the break, but we must try to do the maximum."
New York City FC v Nashville SC: 'Fourth place is everything', claims Cushing
Nick Cushing has insisted New York City FC's focus must be on rounding off the regular-season strongly as he eyes a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
His side sit fifth, two points behind current fourth-placed Orlando City after a 3-2 home victory over third-placed FC Cincinnati.
They have two games remaining before the postseason, which they have already secured their place in, but they also have the chance to reach 50 points for the first time since 2022.
With Orlando facing a tough opponent in Cincinnati this weekend, Cushing remains determined to direct his team's focus on their upcoming match.
"The whole aim of not having a mental slip up [against Nashville] is to focus on fourth place," he told the press.
"Fourth place is everything to us. We could be playing top of the league. We could be playing the team bottom of the league.
"Our mentality, our focus, has to be on performing, and on getting intensity into the game and doing the things that have helped us win football games lately because if we continue to win and somebody around us slips up, that fourth place is open for us."
Their visiting opponents, Nashville SC, find themselves in a different predicament as they sit outside of the playoff spots in 13th place.
"I think Nashville are a really difficult team to play against. I think under their previous coach [they were] direct, and incredible on set plays,” added Cushing.
"Hany Muktar is very dangerous. Sam Surridge is a top player. They’ve got good players, and you have to see past results because, with the new coach, they now play a little bit more."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York City – Alonso Martinez
Martinez is the joint-ninth top scorer in the MLS this season with a club-leading 15 goals in 24 appearances so far.
NYCFC have not failed to score in their last five matches, and Martinez will be key to them keeping this streak in the hope of a win against Nashville.
Nashville – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar had a goal and an assist in Nashville's loss to D.C. United on Wednesday, his 30th career MLS match with multiple goal contributions.
Only Luciano Acosta and Daniel Gazdag have 20 such matches since Mukhtar debuted in MLS in 2020.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK CITY WIN
The hosts are in hot form. They have won consecutive matches after recording just one win in their previous 14 in all competitions (D9 L4).
NYCFC have scored eight times in the two matches, the first time the club has scored eight goals in a two-match span since April-May 2022.
Nashville, on the other hand, have lost six of their last seven regular-season away matches dating back to the beginning of July. They have scored just four goals over those seven matches and have only scored 10 times on the road in 2024, the fewest in MLS this season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York City – 55.6%
Draw – 22.9%
Nashville – 21.5%
Inter 3-2 Torino: Thuram hat-trick keeps Serie A champions within reach of top spot
Marcus Thuram plundered a hat-trick to propel Inter to a 3-2 victory over 10-man Torino in Saturday's Serie A clash.
The victory places Inter second in the league standings with 14 points, two behind leaders Napoli.
Visiting defender Guillermo Maripan was given a straight red card after 20 minutes for a late challenge on Thuram.
Inter swiftly made their numerical advantage count, with Thuram heading in from close range five minutes after the sending-off.
Thuram doubled Inter's lead in the 35th minute with another header from close range. However, Torino pulled one back a minute later, with Duvan Zapata taking advantage of a defensive error to finish from inside the box.
Thuram completed his hat-trick on the hour mark, being in the right place to tap in a rebound after Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had saved a header.
Torino forward Nikola Vlasic converted a penalty four minutes from time after Hakan Calhanoglu had tripped Adam Masina in the area to tee up a grandstand finish.
However, the visitors were unable to mount a final push to find an equaliser.
Data Debrief: Three-goal Thuram does Torino damage
Thuram scored his second hat-trick while playing in the top five European Leagues (in all competitions), after his previous one for Borussia Monchengladbach against Oberachern in the German DFB-Pokal in 2022.
In doing so, he became only the third Inter player to score a hat-trick against Torino in Serie A, after Roberto Boninsegna in March 1974 and Edwin Ronald Firmani in December 1958.
Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect
Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.
Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.
But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery.
Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi.
However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man
Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal.
This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six).
Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates.
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