Inter Milan secured their first victory of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night, October 21, as Carlos Augusto delivered the decisive goal despite the Italian side finishing with 10 men.
The Brazilian defender struck in the 77th minute to settle a tense encounter at San Siro, where Inter had to overcome their attacking frustrations, Alessandro Bastoni’s dismissal and a late Shakhtar onslaught to claim three valuable points.
Cristian Chivu’s side entered the contest under pressure after suffering defeats against Real Madrid and Club Brugge in their opening two European fixtures. With the Milan derby approaching, Inter desperately needed a response, but Shakhtar proved a stubborn opponent.
The hosts started aggressively and nearly opened the scoring within three minutes. Petar Sučić found Ange-Yoan Bonny inside the penalty area, and the forward laid the ball off for Marcus Thuram to shoot. However, Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk reacted well to deny the French striker.
Inter continued creating opportunities, with Hakan Çalhanoğlu sending an effort wide in the fifth minute. Shakhtar responded through Pedrinho, whose powerful run and subsequent shot tested Josep Martínez in the Inter goal.
Bonny came close to breaking the deadlock in the 21st minute, turning and shooting from the edge of the penalty area, but Riznyk produced another important save.
The visitors gradually grew into the contest and almost took the lead in the 40th minute. Inter failed to deal with a corner, allowing defender Valeriy Bondar to rise above Nicolò Barella and direct a header towards goal. Martínez reacted brilliantly, diving across to push the effort away.
Neither side could find a breakthrough before half-time, leaving the match finely balanced.
Inter introduced Andy Diouf, Yann Bisseck and Piotr Zieliński in the 59th minute in an attempt to regain control. The changes initially brought renewed energy, and Bonny soon forced Riznyk into another save after working space inside the penalty area.
Thuram also threatened in the 66th minute, cutting inside from the left before unleashing a curling effort. A slight deflection made the shot more difficult to handle, but Riznyk recovered quickly to turn the ball behind.
However, Inter’s momentum suffered a major setback three minutes later when Bastoni was sent off.
The defender received a second yellow card in the 69th minute after an altercation with Shakhtar midfielder Oleh Ocheretko during a corner. Having already been booked moments earlier for protesting to the officials, Bastoni’s second caution left Inter with 10 players for the closing stages.
The dismissal appeared to hand Shakhtar a significant advantage, but Inter responded with remarkable efficiency.
In the 77th minute, substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan collected possession and delivered an incisive pass into space behind the Shakhtar defence. Carlos Augusto timed his run perfectly, controlled the ball with his chest and advanced towards Riznyk before cleverly lifting his finish beyond the advancing goalkeeper from close range.
The goal sent San Siro into celebration and gave Inter a precious 1-0 lead despite their numerical disadvantage.
Shakhtar immediately increased the pressure and appeared to have equalised two minutes later. Newerton raced through onto a forward pass from Yehor Nazaryna and finished past Martínez, but the assistant referee raised the offside flag, ruling out the effort.
Inter survived another dangerous moment in the 84th minute when Thuram broke forward and delivered an excellent ball across the penalty area for Mkhitaryan. The Armenian midfielder, however, struggled to control the opportunity and dragged his effort wide when a second goal would have eased the tension.
The closing minutes belonged largely to Shakhtar, who pushed forward in search of an equaliser.
Martínez became Inter’s hero once again, producing two outstanding saves in quick succession. He first reacted sharply to turn Newerton’s low effort around the post before making an acrobatic stop to deny Mykola Matviyenko’s close-range header.
Those interventions ensured Inter held on for a victory that had looked increasingly uncertain after Bastoni’s dismissal.
The final statistics reflected a competitive encounter. Inter enjoyed approximately 55 per cent possession and registered 12 shots, four of which were on target, while Shakhtar recorded 13 attempts, including five on target. The visitors’ inability to convert their opportunities ultimately proved costly.
For Inter, the result represented a much-needed European breakthrough after two opening defeats. Carlos Augusto’s decisive contribution and Martínez’s late heroics offered encouragement, although Bastoni’s dismissal will be a concern for Chivu.
Shakhtar, meanwhile, will regret failing to capitalise on their numerical advantage. Their late pressure created genuine opportunities, but poor finishing and Martínez’s exceptional goalkeeping prevented them from leaving Milan with a point.
Inter’s victory was far from comfortable, but their resilience ensured that a difficult Champions League evening ended with three crucial points.
