UCL: Inter Milan battle Victoria Pizan in front of their fans
Serie A giants, Inter Milan are in Czech Republic to tackle Victoria Pizan in the UEFA Champions League fixture
Both beaten on the opening day of their Champions League campaign, Inter Milan and Czech champions Viktoria Plzen meet on Tuesday evening at Stadion mesta Plzne.
The pair will be aiming to get off the mark in a competitive Group C, which also features their respective first-day conquerors: Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Just days after they had slumped to derby defeat against city rivals Milan – their second Serie A setback in three matches – Inter kicked off their latest Champions League campaign by hosting one of the continent’s top teams at San Siro.
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Though they managed to push Liverpool close in the knockout stages of last season’s competition, the Nerazzurri were no match for the perennial Bundesliga champions last Wednesday, and conceding goals either side of the interval saw them suffer a 2-0 reverse on Group C’s opening night.
Since being dethroned as Italian champions by Milan in May – and losing the Coppa Italia final to Juventus – Simone Inzaghi’s second season in charge had begun on a brighter note, but recent results meant that pressure was on to produce three points at home to Torino on Saturday.
Sitting only eighth in the league standings before the game got under way, Inzaghi’s side were within moments of being forced to settle for a draw by dogged opponents, but a magical moment of inspiration between Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic finally unlocked the visitors’ defence in the 89th minute.
Inter have now won each of their last seven Serie A home games, but their next assignment in a packed autumn schedule sends them to the Czech Republic, where they won 3-1 against Slavia Prague in 2019, on their only previous visit in the Champions League.
Given such a tough draw, this week’s encounter could already be billed as the first leg of a decider for third place, but if the Nerazzurri instead intend to push for a top-two place, then victory is almost essential.
Having never won their first fixture of a Champions League group stage in three previous attempts, Viktoria Plzen were always unlikely to end that run last Wednesday, when they journeyed to Catalonia for an encounter with Barcelona.
At times overrun by Xavi’s remodelled side, Plzen fought hard to stay in touch with their illustrious hosts, but after going behind on 13 minutes, they were ultimately sent home licking the wounds from a 5-1 thrashing.
A brief moment of hope provided by Jan Sykora bringing them back within a goal just before the break was soon extinguished when Robert Lewandowski netted the second strike of his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time; effectively ending any chance of a major upset.
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Nonetheless, the Czech First League champions are in otherwise fine form ahead of Inter’s arrival, as not only have they won six of their first seven domestic matches to sit top of the table again – including Saturday’s 3-2 success at Sigma Olomouc – but they also navigated a tricky path in Europe.
Starting their journey to the group phase in the second qualifying round, Michal Bilek’s side saw off HJK Helsinki, Sheriff Tiraspol and Qarabag in order to secure their spot among the elite, but they are now required to take a significant step-up in class.
Following his decision to finally rest long-serving captain Samir Handanovic against Bayern last week, Simone Inzaghi could again turn to former Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana on Tuesday evening.