Inter Milan head coach Simon Inzaghi was pleased with the performance of his team after a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig sent them top of the Champions League standings.
The goal that decided the match came from opposition defender Castello Lukeba, who put through his own net in the 27th minute, although Inter dropped off in the second half and managed just one shot on target.
RB Leipzig also had more of the ball in the second half, though the home side stood firm and maintained their record of being the only team in the tournament yet to concede a goal.
"We are satisfied, we knew the importance of tonight's match," Inzaghi told Sky Sports.
"We were playing against a valuable team, who until Sunday had the best defence in the Bundesliga. We played a great game, we were always balanced and it's not easy with them.
"It's a shame we didn't score the second goal, but the team suffered relatively little."
Denzel Dumfries misfired when presented with a good chance just after the restart and Henrikh Mkhitaryan thought he had doubled Inter's lead in stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
"There is clearly satisfaction, but to get into the top eight we still need a small step," Inzaghi said.
Inter are in first place after five matches, with second-placed Barcelona and third-placed Liverpool still to play on Wednesday trailing them by a point.
With the top eight teams in the competition bypassing the two-legged play-off to go straight into the round of 16, there is a clear motive to finish as high as possible.
"We've had an excellent run, four consecutive victories and five games without conceding a goal," Inzaghi added.
"I was afraid of tonight's game, but the team is mature and knew not to be influenced by Leipzig's zero points."
Cunha and Wolves looking up the table after back-to-back wins
Matheus Cunha says Wolves can start to look up the Premier League table after back-to-back wins, as Gary O'Neil's team bid to continue their revival against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Wolves were rooted to the bottom of the table and winless after 10 matches, but victories over Southampton (2-0) and Fulham (4-1) have lifted them out of the relegation zone.
Cunha has been the key to their resurgence, providing seven goals and three assists this season with seven of those involvements coming in their last four matches.
Since his Premier League debut in January 2023, Cunha has both scored more goals (21) and provided more assists (10) than any other Wolves player. His 31 goal involvements are the second-most of any Wolves player in the competition's history, behind Raul Jimenez (58).
Speculation had begun to mount around O'Neil's position before Wolves' turnaround, but Cunha says the squad are united in their aims after regaining their confidence.
"We never had a doubt about this," Cunha said of O'Neil's position. "He did a lot of good things for us last season, and then we started to build an unbelievable relationship.
"But, of course, football is like life, everyone knows that it's the results that matter in the end.
"But the work that you show is as important for me, for the group and for everyone. We are very happy with him and we are very happy with the results. I hope now we can start to fight for the things we want."
O'Neil's former club Bournemouth are six points clear of Wolves in 13th, having lost successive games after enjoying a strong start to the campaign.
Their latest defeat came against 10-man Brighton and Hove Albion at the Vitality Stadium, where a fifth yellow card of the season for star winger Antoine Semenyo ruled him out of Saturday's trip to Molineux through suspension.
"Every team has injuries, has suspensions," head coach Andoni Iraola said of Semenyo's suspension after the Brighton game. "We will miss now Ant, that is also a big miss.
"I don't know if everyone has finished healthy or not. We'll see, but we will have to adapt, I think for sure every team is adapting."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Matheus Cunha
There is no doubt about Wolves' star man this campaign. As well as boasting more Premier League goal involvements than any other player outside the 'big six' clubs (10), Cunha has been involved in more attacking sequences (56) than any other Wolves player.
Cunha has been involved in half of Wolves' Premier League goals this term (10/20).
Only Mohamed Salah (66%), Dwight McNeil (60%), Bukayo Saka (57%), Erling Haaland (54%), Liam Delap, Chris Wood (both 53%) and Cole Palmer (52%) have been involved in a higher share of their team's goals.
Bournemouth – Milos Kerkez
In the absence of Semenyo, Bournemouth will have to rely on creativity from elsewhere, and left-back Kerkez is capable of providing it at a ground where he was sent off last season.
Kerkez ranks fifth among all Premier League defenders for open-play crosses (30) this season, with only nine defenders bettering his 12 open-play chances created.
MATCH PREDICTION – WOLVES WIN
Having won four consecutive Premier League away games in November and December last season, Bournemouth have won just three of their last 16 on the road (four draws, nine losses).
One of these was against Wolves in April, but O'Neil may just be confident of getting one over on his former employers on Saturday.
Wolves have won their last two Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 22 combined (five draws, 15 defeats). They last won three in a row last December.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are yet to win a Premier League match against a team that did not start the day in the relegation zone (Everton and Southampton) or the top four (Arsenal and Manchester City) in 2024-25.
Neutrals should expect entertainment whatever the result. Wolves' 12 Premier League games this term have featured 48 goals, more than any other side.
Their 20 goals scored are their most 12 games into a top-flight campaign since 1972-73 (25), while their 28 conceded are their most at this stage since 1983-84 (31).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 39.1%
Bournemouth – 34.3%
Draw – 26.6%
Haiti's Real Hope take 1-0 advantage over Dom Rep's Moca FC in Caribbean Cup third-place tie
Haiti’s Real Hope FA edged Dominican Republic’s Moca FC 1-0 in the first leg of their Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place tie in Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, on Tuesday.
Stanley Joseph opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a right-footed strike as he capitalized on a deflected ball in the box. Jeudy Johnson was essential in the buildup play and later provided the ball over the top, which led to the goal.
Huguens Michel went close to extending the lead for Real Hope in the 14th minute as his header went just wide of left upright.
Real Hope was reduced to ten men in the 45+1 after Steeve Mondestin was shown a straight red card.
With the numerical advantage, Moca FC should have pulled level in the 45+5, but Eduardo Montenegro well-struck free kick, but Real Hope’s goalkeeper Gooly Elien proved equal to the task.
Argentina-born Gustavo Ascona had a dangerous hit on target from outside the box in the 45+6, but Elien again came up big to deny him.
Like they did at the start, Real Hope came out more purposeful after the break, and Angelo Exilus danced his way through Moca’s defence but his final effort in the 74th was charged down by Keudy Jimenez.
Yveto Dort again went close for Real Hope with a stinging 78th-minute drive from a distance that went just wide of the target.
Real Hope’s custodian Elien was again called up on to deny a 90+5-minute effort to preserve the clean sheet and ensure his team remained on the front foot heading into next Tuesday’s second leg.
He finished the night with four saves and his third clean sheet in the tournament.
Shaquille Stein's lone strike gifts Ja's Cavalier 1-0 advantage over Dom Rep's Cibao in Caribbean Cup final
Cavalier FC took a crucial step toward their first-ever Concacaf Caribbean Cup title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC in the first leg of the final at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
A 20th-minute strike from Suriname-born Shaquille Stein proved decisive in a match where both goalkeepers stole the spotlight.
The win means Cavalier, contesting their second-consecutive Caribbean Cup final, will take an important advantage into next Tuesday’s second leg, which will be played in Cibao’s backyard at Santiago de los Caballeros.
With the away-goals rule in effect, Cavalier’s priority will be to keep things tight defensively while seeking opportunities to extend their aggregate lead, something Head coach Rudolph Speid knows all too well.
“There were a number of objectives that we had, and one of them was not to concede because of the away-goal rule, and we achieved that,” Speid said at a post-game press conference.
“The other one was to try to get a lead. We didn't get as big a lead as we would have wanted, but I would take what happened today (Tuesday) anytime over any other score," he added
Stein, Cavalier’s leading scorer and Golden Boot frontrunner, continued his dazzling form with his eighth goal of the campaign.
Dwayne Atkinson orchestrated the move, slicing through Cibao’s defence with a perfectly weighted through ball, which Stein latched onto with precision, firing past Cibao’s experienced custodian Miguel Lloyd.
Despite taking the lead, Cavalier couldn’t find the comfort of a second goal. Jalmaro Calvin came close in the 67th minute with a sharp effort from the edge of the box, only for Lloyd to make an acrobatic save and keep the visitors in contention.
Lloyd denied Stein a brace in the 72nd minute, sliding in expertly to block the Cavalier striker’s attempt after another swift counterattack.
The Cibao custodian finished the game with four saves, standing tall in several key moments.
Cibao, though held scoreless, came alive in the closing stages as Rivaldo Correa’s header off a corner in the 85th minute seemed destined to level the match, but Cavalier’s goalkeeper Vino Barclett punched it away with authority.
Moments later, Juan Díaz’s wickedly curling corner nearly caught Barclett, who finished with eight saves, off guard, but Calvin was well positioned to head it to safety.
Cavalier had one last chance to double their advantage in stoppage time when Calvin rose to meet a cross with a powerful header, but Lloyd produced yet another brilliant save to ensure the margin remained just one goal heading into the second leg.
Much like Cavalier, Cibao will look to capitalize on their home-field advantage to possibly overturn the deficit and get their hands on the coveted title as well as a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16.
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