Match report | Lukeba ensures Leipzig's all-round needed day | Inter Milan – RB Leipzig 1-0 | 5th matchday | Champions League 2024/25

Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi changed almost his entire team compared to the 5-0 dress rehearsal at Hellas Verona: with Pavard, de Vrij, Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco, Taremi and Martinez, there were eight new players in the starting line-up. They played for Bisseck, Acerbi, Darmian, Asllani, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto, Thuram and Correa.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose had completely different concerns, as he only had 15 available field players in San Siro, including young player Viggo Gebel (17). There were three changes compared to the 3:4 at TSG Hoffenheim: Geertruida, Haidara and Silva came on for Klostermann (muscular problems) and Vermeeren and Sesko (both bench).

For ex-Milan professional Silva (39 games), it was only his second starting eleven appearance of the season after the cup game against St. Pauli (4:2). Rose explained this at DAZN on the one hand with the Portuguese's training performance, but on the other hand he also saw the need to give Sesko a break. Although the Slovenian was burning with passion, he had recently acted “very intellectually”; he had played “more with burden, less with desire.”

Inter superior, RB overwhelmed

Inter, unbeaten in eleven games – their last competitive defeat was 2-1 in the city derby against AC Milan – got off to a great start. The Milanese proved to be extremely confident on the ball, circulated the ball well and were also impressive in the field of duels. The Nerazzurri were bursting with self-confidence, made the better impression against passive Leipzig and created a clear increase in chances via Bastoni (6th), the agile Dimarco (8th, 13th), Dumfries (15th) and Martinez (18th). .

It seemed only a matter of time before the bell rang – and that was the case in a rather unfortunate way: Dimarco's free-kick cross from the right was deflected by Lukeba into his own net (27th). Even if the lead came about with Leipzig's help, it was undoubtedly deserved. RB seemed overwhelmed, had a lot of problems freeing themselves and were ultimately well served with the 0-1 half-time deficit, also because Baumgartner had bravely saved against Pavard shortly before the line in the 31st minute.

Pavard out injured

So everything is paletti for the Milanese? No, because Pavard injured his back left thigh and had to be substituted for Bisseck before the half-time whistle (44').

Little changed after the break. Inter remained dominant and acted, while Leipzig simply reacted. However, the Nerazzurri failed to close the bag in time as Dumfries (46th), Martinez (50th), Calhanoglu (54th) and Taremi (57th) each missed decent chances.

Ouedraogo's bitter 'misstep'

So it remained a narrow 1-0 – and the guests' faint hope that they might still be able to pull something off. In addition, the Italians increasingly switched to administration mode and no longer stressed RB as much. The score was almost 1-1 out of nowhere, but Sommer made a strong save against Nusa (69').

Ouedraogo was once again extremely unlucky, as he was unlucky just seconds after being substituted, sank to the ground and had to be substituted straight away, limping (70'). Vermeeren came and then experienced a final phase in which RB suddenly set the tone against the low-lying Milanese. However, there were no significant shots, so the score ultimately remained 1-0.

Inter remained unbeaten for the twelfth game in a row and travel to Florence on Sunday (6 p.m.) with a big chest. Leipzig will host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and hopes to end its five-game winless streak.