Inter’s return to UEFA Champions League activity saw them travel to the Iberian Peninsula. Just a few months ago, Inter was disassembled by a strong Manchester City side in Istanbul. They would face a Real Sociedad side that is having a tough time in the league so far this year, as they have only one victory to show for their first five matches.
Andre Barrenetxea was able to capitalize on poor positioning to smash an effort off the woodwork within the opening 3 minute of this match in San Sebastian. Although Inter have had a solid start to the Serie A campaign, there were indications of frailty within their defense from the early stages of this match in San Sebastian.
Even if that should have been a wakeup message for Inter, Simone Inzaghi found out that his team was behind just one minute later. Alessandro Bastoni made an error that was out of character for him, and as a result, the Italian defender was dispossessed in his own half. This gave Brais Mendez the opportunity to give Real Sociedad the lead.
Simply put, Inter did not resemble European Finalists in any way. When he was left unguarded in the penalty area to grab onto Takefusa Kubo’s cross, Robin Le Normand had a golden opportunity to double the home team’s advantage, but the defender was unable to fully make the connection.
After the halftime break, Inzaghi’s team did not show any signs of improvement, and goalkeeper Yann Sommer was called into action just a few minutes after play resumed. Mendez was eager to complete his hat trick, but the Swiss goalkeeper made an outstanding save to prevent his free-kick from going in. Additionally, Mikel Oyarzabal’s header from close range was also prevented from going in.
After Nicolo Barella was sent off for an illegal stamp on Mendez, it appeared as though things were about to become much worse for Inter, but a review by the video assistant referee exonerated the midfielder of any involvement in the incident. Still, Inter appeared completely uninteresting and were extremely fortunate not to fall further down as Mikel Merino’s header went wide of Sommer’s goal. Inter’s performance was a disappointment.
An undeserved point was salvaged for Nerrazzuri by Lautaro Martnez, who scored with their first and only shot on target during the match. The Argentine forward did a good job of sprinting onto Davide Frattesi’s miss-hit shot and then shooting an effort into the top of the net to keep Inter’s perfect start to the 2023/24 season intact.
On October 3, Real Sociedad will compete against RB Salzburg, while on the same day, Inter will be hosting Benfica in the San Siro, where they will be looking for a far improved performance than they had against Real Sociedad.
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