Inter Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu was disappointed by the atmosphere at the Etihad (Picture: Getty)
Hakan Calhanoglu says he was surprised by the ‘very quiet’ atmosphere at the Etihad and Inter Milan would have beaten Manchester City had the Champions League match taken place at the San Siro.
City’s European campaign got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a goalless draw by Simone Inzaghi’s impressive Inter side on Wednesday evening.
Phil Foden had a shot denied by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer after coming off the bench and Ilkay Gundogan squandered two golden chances to make the breakthrough in the closing stages.
Remarkably, it was the first time in 40 home games that City had failed to find the back of the net in the Champions League and Pep Guardiola’s men will be desperate to return to winning ways against Slovan Bratislava on October 1.
City’s disappointment was compounded by Kevin De Bruyne’s enforced substitution through injury at the halfway stage, which comes as a major concern ahead of the side’s clash with Premier League title rivals Arsenal this weekend.
Inter head coach Inzaghi was pleased to return to Italy with a draw and praised his players’ display against the English champions, who had won four games straight heading into the contest.
Calhanoglu, though, felt Inter could have come away from the match with all three points on another day and took aim at City fans for failing to create an atmosphere to fit the occasion.
Gundogan missed two huge opportunities to make the breakthrough (Picture: Getty)
‘I think everyone was expecting a very warm atmosphere but the fans were very quiet,’ the Inter midfielder told reporters after the sides’ stalemate.
‘If we had been at San Siro we could have won, with an atmosphere like this we expected more.
We played a good game against a strong team. We tried everything, had chances to score, a lot of chances, and both teams today showed all the people around some good football.’
The reigning Serie A champions were determined to enter the match without fear despite City’s astonishing record at home in recent years.
‘We wanted to show that we are not scared to play here. We play football the way they do, with sacrifice we showed that we can also play football,’ the Turkey international added.
‘We know that Manchester City never lose here at home and we took a point with us. We want to continue like this, proving who Inter are
‘We try, we’re taking it one step at a time and our first step was against one of the best teams in the world, so we are happy.’
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