Brozovic, Skriniar and Sanchez strike to down Sheriff

TIRASPOL - The element of surprise that allowed Sheriff to overturn Shakhtar and Real Madrid was not present in Tiraspol on an evening when Inter managed to leapfrog the hosts and move up into second place in Group D. Second-half goals by Marcelo Brozovic, Milan Skriniar and Alexis Sanchez ensured the Nerazzurri left Moldova with all three points, while the hosts did get a late reply when Adama Traore headed home a stoppage-time free kick.

A clash with a team that have shocked the football world at the start of this Champions League season in an unfamiliar city had all the ingredients of a potential banana skin, but Simone Inzaghi’s side knew that the ideal preparation for Sunday’s Milan derby was ensuring Inter headed into it in second place in Group D by winning in Tiraspol.

A sumptuous second-half display saw Inzaghi’s charges accomplish their mission and move up to seven points, just two behind Real Madrid who now sit on nine points after beating Shakhtar in the early kick-off. The first half had echoes of previous Champions League games that went awry in which countless chances went begging, but Brozovic, Skriniar and Sanchez made no mistake after the interval to clinch a crucial victory for the Nerazzurri.

There were no surprises from Yuriy Vernydub’s charges this time around. As expected, they sat back and looked to play on the counter, with Inter lining up in a 3-5-2 formation. Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez led the line, with Arturo Vidal behind them in midfield.

Inter dominated the proceedings from start to finish, as shown by registering a staggering 70% possession in the first half and no fewer than 13 efforts on goal. Dzeko had two of the best chances when his close-range header went wide and he did brilliantly to control the ball in between two defenders before shooting at goal, only for the inspired Giorgos Athanasiadis to deny him.

Lautaro had two bites at the cherry in the first half, but was remarkably thwarted twice by Cristiano, who threw his body at the ball to keep the Argentine out. When the forward unleashed a strike that got the better of the goalkeeper, the woodwork had other ideas and the two teams went in goalless at the interval.

Vidal seemed intent on ensuring there was no repeat of the stalemate away to Shakhtar by creating the opening that allowed Brozovic to receive the ball on the edge of the box, feign to shoot and take two defenders out of the game and then thump a right-footed shot that nestled in the corner. Nicolo Barella can also take credit for his part in the goal with an instinctive dive to get out of the way of his team-mate’s shot, which resulted in his maiden Champions League goal in his 27th appearance.

Sheriff did not look to change their stance after falling behind, while Inter continued to set the tempo and quickly went in search of a second goal to put the game to bed. It soon arrived when a De Vrij’s header from a Brozovic corner was pushed out by Athanasiadis towards a grateful Skriniar, whose initial attempt was saved once again, but he could not miss when the rebound fell to him and he bagged his first Champions League goal.

Sanchez and Joaquin Correa were then sent on, with the Chilean wasting no time before making an impact as he dispossessed Gustavo Dulanto, broke into the box and fired a powerful shot past the helpless Athanasiadis to take Inter up to seven points in Group D, behind Real Madrid on nine.

SHERIFF TIRASPOL 1-3 INTER (HT: 0-0)

Scorers: Brozovic 54, Skriniar 66, Sanchez 83, Traore 90+2.

SHERIFF TIRASPOL (4-2-3-1): 30 Athanasiadis; 13 Costanza, 2 Arboleda, 55 Dulanto, 15 Cristiano; 31 Thill, 21 Addo (6 Radeljic, 62); 9 Traore, 22 Kolovos (77 Bruno, 73), 10 Castaneda; 17 Yakhshiboev (16 Julien, 82).Subs not used: 1 Celeadnic, 33 Pascenco, 8 Belousov, 19 Cojocari, 98 Cojocaru.Coach: Vernydub.

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Handanovic; 37 Skriniar, 6 De Vrij (13 Ranocchia, 85), 95 Bastoni; 36 Darmian (2 Dumfries, 46), 23 Barella, 77 Brozovic, 22 Vidal, 32 Dimarco (14 Perisic, 64); 9 Dzeko (19 Correa, 82), 10 Lautaro (7 Sanchez, 82).Subs not used: 97 Radu, 5 Gagliardini, 8 Vecino, 11 Kolarov, 12 Sensi, 20 Calhanoglu, 33 D'Ambrosio.Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Booked: Addo, Darmian, Cristiano, Kolovos, Costanza, Skriniar.Added time: 0+2 minutes.

Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER).Assistants: Rafael Foltyn and Marco Achmüller (GER).Fourth official: Sven Jablonski (GER).VAR: Marco Fritz (GER).Assistant VAR: Harm Osmers (GER).