Champions League: Inter, with Zieliński on the bench, beat Shakhtar 1-0 despite a red card

On Wednesday 21 October 2026, Inter Milan won their first points of this season's Champions League. At the San Siro they beat Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0. Piotr Zieliński, who came on as a substitute, was involved in the build-up to the goal.

How the match went

It was Inter's third match of the campaign. After two rounds the Milan side had no points, even though they celebrated the Italian title this year. Shakhtar came into the game with four points.

Coach Cristian Chivu left Zieliński on the bench. Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Petar Sučić played in midfield. Earlier in the competition the Pole had started Champions League matches in the first XI.

The first half offered few chances and finished goalless. In the 59th minute Zieliński replaced Calhanoglu. Soon after he came on, Marcus Thuram hit a hard, low shot, and Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk only just pushed it out for a corner.

Red card and goal

In the 68th minute Alessandro Bastoni received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Inter with ten men. As the author of the match report notes, the team could not score with eleven players but did so with ten.

The only goal came in the 77th minute from Carlos Augusto. Substitutes Piotr Zieliński and Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped in the move that led to it. Late on, Mkhitaryan missed a chance to make it 2-0. Shakhtar answered with a shot from Newerton that threatened Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez.

The match was refereed by Harm Osmers of Germany. Yellow cards went to Thuram, Bastoni and Sučić for Inter, and to Ocheretko and Marlon for Shakhtar.