Inter Milan 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk: Carlos Augusto scores the winner, then Inter hold on with ten men

Inter Milan beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at San Siro to collect their first Champions League points of the season at the third attempt, but not before a red card to Alessandro Bastoni turned a comfortable lead-up into a nervous finish played out with ten men.

Carlos Augusto settled it in the 77th minute, converting a pass from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, himself on as a substitute. By then Inter were already down to ten: Bastoni was shown a first yellow card in the 66th minute and a second, for a red, just two minutes later, leaving his teammates to hold out a man light rather than defend a position they already had. Marcus Thuram and Petar Sucic were also booked either side of the sending-off, along with Shakhtar's Oleh Ocheretko and Marlon Gomes, in a match that turned increasingly physical once Inter's numerical disadvantage set in.

A result Inter badly needed

Inter had taken nothing from their opening two Champions League matches — a 1-2 defeat away at Real Madrid on matchday 1 and a 3-4 home loss to Club Brugge on matchday 2 — leaving them bottom of the 36-club table on zero points heading into this game, the only one of the four marquee sides in action this round without a single point to their name. That European slump sat awkwardly alongside Serie A form that could hardly have been more different: Cristian Chivu's side arrived top of the table on 19 points from seven games, unbeaten in Serie A all season, with three wins in their last five matches across all competitions — the other two results a draw at Roma and the Champions League defeat to Club Brugge. This was the European form finally catching up with the domestic form, even if it needed a man advantage turned into a disadvantage to get there.

Scoring while down to ten is the story here

What makes Carlos Augusto's goal unusual is its timing: it came nine minutes after Bastoni's red card, meaning Inter were already playing with ten men when they took the lead rather than defending one they already held. It was substitute Mkhitaryan who produced the pass, a reminder that a side reduced to ten does not have to retreat into pure containment, even against a Shakhtar team that had taken four points from their first two matches and arrived unbeaten.

Shakhtar's unbeaten start ends, but the defence held mostly firm

Shakhtar Donetsk came into this match with a draw at PSV Eindhoven and a 3-1 win over AEK Athens from their first two Champions League fixtures, the kind of start that had them handily placed in the table before kick-off. A single goal conceded, even against ten men for the last quarter of the game, is not the sign of a defence that fell apart — this was a game Shakhtar lost by the finest possible margin rather than one they were outclassed in, and they will take some encouragement from how little they gave Inter in the way of further chances once the sending-off opened the door.

Match stats

Match facts

• 68' — Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), second yellow card, red card
• 77' — Carlos Augusto (Inter Milan), assist Henrikh Mkhitaryan
• San Siro, Milan — Champions League league phase, matchday 3, Wednesday 21 October 2026

What's next

Inter's first win of the league phase moves them off the foot of the 36-club Champions League table, though they still have ground to make up on the top eight that go straight into the round of 16. In Serie A, where they remain top on 19 points from seven games, the focus now turns back to defending that lead domestically before their next European test. Shakhtar, who had been unbeaten through two matchdays, take a first defeat of their campaign into matchday 4 still with four points on the board.