Sheriff 1-3 Inter: Sanchez on target as Nerazzurri move up to second in Group D

By Sports Desk November 03, 2021

Inter moved up to second in Champions League Group D with a 3-1 away victory over Sheriff on Wednesday.

The Serie A champions secured their first win of the campaign against Yuriy Vernydub's men a fortnight ago, and they followed that up with another to move to remain two points behind leaders Real Madrid, who beat Shakhtar Donetsk earlier in the day.

Inter were unable to find a breakthrough in the first half despite carving out a host of chances, but they went ahead nine minutes after the restart thanks to Marcelo Brozovic's first goal of the season.

Milan Skriniar and Alexis Sanchez put the game beyond Sheriff, who scored a late consolation through Adama Traore, as Simone Inzaghi's side took a significant stride towards booking a spot in the last 16. 

Inter had a flurry of chances shortly before the half-hour mark, Lautaro Martinez denied by a goalline clearance and goalkeeper Georgios Athanasiadis in quick succession, while Matteo Darmian whipped wide from inside the penalty area.

Athanasiadis had to be alert to deny Edin Dzeko soon after, before Martinez crashed against the post from distance as a dominant Inter went in at the interval having had 13 shots to their hosts' one.

Inter's relentless pressure did pay off in the 53rd minute, though, Brozovic coolly cutting onto his right foot and slamming into the bottom-left corner from 18 yards.

Skriniar prodded in from close range 12 minutes later after Athanasiadis had kept out Stefan de Vrij's header and the Slovakian defender's initial follow-up.

Sanchez added a third just 33 seconds after being introduced from the substitutes' bench in the 82nd minute, lashing home after a powerful run, before Traore headed a consolation in stoppage time for the Moldovan side.

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