Champions League, Real Sociedad 1 - 1 Inter: a draw on matchday one

A late El Toro leveller. At the end of a tough, tiring match that was almost lost, someone had to pull something out of the bag. And that someone was Lautaro Martinez. A Frattesi shot turned into an assist for the Inter captain, who converted at the back post to rescue a late draw against Real Sociedad. The Nerazzurri had started poorly, with the hosts hitting the post, finding the net and then creating further chances. As the match progressed, Inter continued to struggle and had almost zero shots on goal. The home side hit the woodwork again and were thwarted by a fantastic Sommer stop. But Inter hung on in there and found renewed energy as the final whistle approached. Lautaro scored in the 87th minute, and then came a late Nerazzurri siege. Although the team were unable to score another one, they came away with a precious draw at a tough - a very tough - place to play.

A new journey in Europe's elite competition, starting in the hostile atmosphere of the Reale Arena in San Sebastian. A difficult stadium to visit against a team full of quality, aggression and the desire to make their mark in Europe. Real Sociedad, who caused Real Madrid all sorts of problems on Sunday, are an extremely well-drilled side. From the get-go, they put pressure on Inter, who had several new faces in their line-up compared to the derby. Pavard made his debut, Asllani took Calhanoglu's place, and there were also starts for Carlos Augusto, Arnautovic and De Vrij.

The Nerazzurri struggled early on as they failed to adequately deal with the home side's pressing. Mendez and Barrenetxea threatened, with the latter hitting the post in the third minute. The alarm bells were ringing for Inter, and the home crowd were very much enjoying it. The stadium only got louder when Mendez opened the scoring with a left-footed strike in the fourth minute after taking advantage of a mistake by Bastoni. A roar of delight and Inzaghi's men found themselves behind.

Inter hadn't started a match so slowly this season and they then failed to properly respond. Kubo was a constant thorn in their side, while Le Normand almost doubled Real Sociedad's advantage with a header. Despite posing very little threat, the Nerazzurri were able to stay in the match. And they had to dig in at the start of the second half, too.

Sommer was a key figure. After thwarting Mendez, the Inter goalkeeper produced a stunning stop to keep out a close-range header from Oyarzabal. After these two vital saves, Barella was somewhat inexplicably sent off by the referee, who then changed his mind after going over to the monitor. Inter still had eleven players on the pitch, and they slowly but surely started to show some positive signs. After coming off the bench, Dimarco, Thuram, Frattesi and, above all, Sanchez provided a bit of energy as the hosts began to fade and drop back.

Inter, meanwhile, only improved as the match wore on. Thuram scored, but it was chalked off for offside. However, this wasn't the case for Lautaro, who showed real striker's instinct to finish off a skewed Frattesi shot and make it 1-1. Having drawn level, Inter, who were wearing their new third kit for the very first time, pushed forward and sent several balls into the box, but they were unable to find a winner. It thus finished in a draw, and a very precious one at that.

REAL SOCIEDAD 1-1 INTER

Goalscorers: 4' Mendez (RS), 87' Lautaro (I)

REAL SOCIEDAD (4-3-3): 1 Remiro; 18 Traoré, 5 Zubeldia, 24 Le Normand, 17 Tierney (3 Muñoz 62'); 23 Mendez (20 Pacheco 85'), 4 Zubimendi, 8 Merino; 14 Kubo (2 Odriozola 72'), 10 Oyarzabal (19 Sadiq 72'), 7 Barrenetxea (11 Cho 62'). Substitutes: 30 Ayesa, 32 Unai Marrero, 12 Zakharyan, 16 Olasagasti, 22 Turrientes, 26 Gonzalez, 28 Magunacelaya. Coach: Imanol Alguacil.

INTER (3-5-2): 1 Sommer; 28 Pavard, 6 De Vrij (15 Acerbi 76'), 95 Bastoni (32 Dimarco 55'); 2 Dumfries, 23 Barella, 21 Asllani (16 Frattesi 55'), 22 Mkhitaryan (70 Sanchez 69'), 30 C. Augusto; 8 Arnautovic (9 Thuram 55'), 10 Lautaro. Substitutes: 12 Di Gennaro, 77 Audero, 14 Klaassen, 31 Bisseck, 36 Darmian. Coach: Simone Inzaghi.

Booked: Asllani (I), Mkhitaryan (I), Pavard (I), Traoré (RS), Zubeldia (RS) Note: S. Inzaghi (I) booked. Added time: 1' - 6'

Referee: Oliver (ENG). Assistants: Burt, Cook (ENG). Fourth official: Madley (ENG). VAR: Attwell (ENG). VAR assistant: Bebek (CRO).