Manchester City's (Manchester, England) meteoric rise in the European Football Association (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) came to a halt after four straight wins in the English Premier League (EPL).
City drew 0-0 with Inter Milan (Italy) in the first leg of the 2024-2025 UCL League Phase at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on Sept. 19 (KST).
City, who have won four straight games in the EPL since the start of the season, scoring at least two goals in every game, start the UCL with a point after the first 'goalless' match.
The UCL, which has expanded from 32 to 36 teams, will feature a “league phase” in the first round, with each team playing eight matches, four home and four away, based on a draw.
The top one through eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16, while the ninth through 24 teams will compete in a playoff to determine the last 16.
Elling Holland's goal-scoring streak came to a halt on the day, as he has now scored in four consecutive games since the start of the EPL (nine goals) to lead City's winning streak.
Inter Milan, who won the Serie A title last season, remained unbeaten in the league since the start of the season with a clean sheet against the 'giants' after four games (two wins, two draws).
It was a rematch of the 2022-2023 UCL final between the two favorites.
City, who won their first-ever UCL title with a 1-0 victory in last year's final, fired 23 shots on goal, including five on target, but none were on target.
City were particularly disappointed to see Ilkay Gündoğan's header from a Yoshiko Gvardiol cross in the 44th minute saved by Jan Zomer, and Gündoğan's diving header in stoppage time bounce off the post.
Inter Milan had 13 shots, three of which were on target.
Last season's UCL runners-up Borussia Dortmund (Germany) earned all three points with a 3-0 win over Krupp Brugge (Belgium).
Dortmund's England-born 2004 forward Jamie Gittens scored the winner in the 31st and 41st minutes of the second half in a multi-goal outburst, while Serge Girassi added a late stoppage-time penalty.
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) also won their first game of the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg (Austria).
Notably, it was the first UCL victory for Sparta Prague since December 2003 and 19 years since 2005.
Bologna (Italy) drew 0-0 with Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) in their UCL debut. 카지노사이트
