Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

Held scoreless for the first time this season, Inter finish the group in second behind a feisty Real Sociedad While some in the media played down this final fixture of the group stage, looking at the standings, it was clear that winning Group D would result in a much easier round-of-16 tie for the Nerazzuri. Winning the group would have probably left a pool of teams consisting of Copenhagen, PSV, PSG/Newcastle, RB Leipzig, and Porto/Shatkar Donetsk. Coming in second results in a much tougher pool consisting of Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid (most likely), Dortmund (most likely), Manchester City and Barcelona. Ouch!
While there was some squad rotation, Izaghi put a formidable lineup on the pitch. Despite outshooting Real Sociedad ten to five and bringing on Lautaro, Barella, and Arnautovic in the 65th minute, the team didn?t much threaten the Txuri-Urdin, and the game ended scoreless. Of note, this is the first time all season (Serie A and Champions League) where Inter Milan failed to score.
Starting XIs

Inter Milan lineup

Inzaghi played Carlos Augusto at left back again, deeming Bastoni not fit for 90 minutes. Cuadrado filled in for the injured Dumfries, and Frattesi and Sanchez started in place of Barella and Lautaro.

Real Sociedad lineup

First Half
There was not much action in the first 35 minutes of the first half, as the Real Sociedad high-pre...