Manchester City's bid for a second Champions League crown got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a goalless draw by Inter in a repeat of the 2023 final.
Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair at the Etihad Stadium, with Inter defending resolutely before threatening to hit Pep Guardiola's hosts on the break on numerous occasions.
City's goal machine Erling Haaland was hoping to become the fastest player in history to score 100 goals for a European club, but he saw a header held by Yann Sommer early on before rolling another effort narrowly wide of the post.
Marcus Thuram flashed a first-time shot over the crossbar as Simone Inzaghi's men fired a warning shot of their own, while another Sommer save prevented Phil Foden from capping a delightful City move with a goal.
Inter's clearest opening came in the 53rd minute, but former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian inexplicably tried to find a team-mate with a backheel when presented with a clear sight of Ederson's goal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had City fans breathing a huge sigh of relief when he missed another golden late opportunity, sending a wild effort spinning over the crossbar from 10 yards out.
But the last chances went City's way, Ilkay Gundogan eliciting huge groans from the home fans with two misses from short-range headers in the dying seconds.
Data Debrief: Inter make a statement
City are always favourites on their own turf, but Inter were expected to put up a fight on Wednesday and they did precisely that, marking themselves out as potential challengers for the European crown.
It was just the second time City had failed to find the net in 42 home Champions League matches under Guardiola, with the other being a goalless draw with Sporting CP in 2022.
Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi and Yann Bisseck impressed in the heart of defence, limiting Haaland to the fewest touches (14) of any starter on either team.
The Nerazzurri also offered a threat going forward, with their 10 first-half attempts making them the first Champions League visitors to reach double figures at the Etihad since Monaco in February 2017 (also 10).
Napoli 5-0 Palermo: Five-star hosts cruise into Coppa Italia last 16
Cyril Ngonge scored twice in an electrifying performance, as Napoli breezed into the Coppa Italia last 16 with a crushing 5-0 win over Serie B Palermo on Thursday.
Ngonge struck first in the seventh minute with a left-footed drive that bounced in front of Salvatore Sirigu before squirming under his body into the net, leaving the goalkeeper shaking his head in disbelief.
Sirigu was at fault again five minutes later when Ngonge lashed another left-footer from a difficult angle, the ball flying across the face of the goal before nestling in the side netting to make it 2-0.
Palermo gave the hosts a scare as Matteo Brunori struck the post 29 minutes in, but Napoli were too big, too strong and too quick for their second-tier visitors, with Juan Jesus nodding home from a corner to make it 3-0 just before the break.
The visitors' hopes of a comeback were shattered when they were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark. Aljosa Vasic was given a straight red card for dangerous play after catching Billy Gilmour in the face.
David Neres slotted home the fourth in the 70th minute, pressing to help win the ball back before coolly knocking into the net.
Scott McTominay then came off the bench to score with his first touch, rifling home a pass from fellow substitute Romelu Lukaku seven minutes later to complete the rout.
Data Debrief: A perfect performance
Conte's first game in charge was in the first round of this competition, and the Partenopei edged their way through with a penalty shootout win over Modena.
It was a totally different performance this time around though. They had 16 shots, seven of which were on target, accumulating just 1.55 expected goals.
Ngonge's part was perhaps the most impressive - he scored with both of his shots, with those chances equalling just 0.09 xG, though he just could not snatch a hat-trick in the second half to round off a brilliant game.
KC, JC, Excelsior all score heavily in Manning Cup wins
Kingston College, Jamaica College and Excelsior High all scored massive wins in ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup action on Wednesday.
KC hit seven past Meadowbrook High at Meadowbrook to remain atop Zone C with 13 points from five games.
Elsewhere in Zone C, Campion College dispatched Penwood 2-0 to draw level on 10 points with their opponents who are in second place on goal difference.
Jose Marti Technical edged Cumberland High 2-1 in the St. Catherine derby in the day’s other Zone C clash.
Zone F action saw leaders Jamaica College defeat Bridgeport High 9-0 with Giovanni Taylor bagging four goals as the standout performer. Excelsior High hammered Pembroke Hall 11-0 in the other game from the zone.
In Zone D, Vauxhall High grabbed a late equalizer to secure a 1-1 draw against Camperdown High to remain unbeaten this season.
STATHS displayed a vintage performance as they held firm to secure their third win of the season with a 1-0 victory versus Haile Selassie and remain top of the zone with 10 points from their four outings.
Celta Vigo 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Super-sub Alvarez snatches last-gasp win
A late Julian Alvarez goal earned Atletico Madrid a dramatic 1-0 win at Celta Vigo on Thursday to lift them to third in LaLiga.
Atletico looked to be heading to a second straight draw, but the substitute was alert in the final minute of the 90 to ensure they returned to Madrid with all three points.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak was key as Celta suffered their first home defeat of the season, producing an excellent save to deny Iago Aspas at his near post just before the break.
He kept his side in it throughout a poor showing, also keeping out Borja Iglesias twice after the break as Celta struggled to find their clinical edge.
But big-money signing Alvarez struck in the dying minutes, stretching out a leg to meet Antonie Griezmann's pinpoint cross to poke his second goal of the season past Vicente Guaita.
Data Debrief: Atleti ride their luck
It was not a vintage performance for Atletico by any stretch of the imagination, which was only confirmed as Oblak was awarded player of the match at the end of the contest.
The visitors only had two shots on target (from eight attempts), with both of those coming in the final 11 minutes as they accumulated just 0.63 expected goals.
Celta's profligacy came back to haunt them though as they had 10 shots, four of which hit the target, with three of those classed as big chances. They created an xG of 1.37, but just could not find a way past Oblak.
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